Completed in 2021, the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center, located in Arlington, Virginia, is a 92,513 sf, one-story aquatic and recreation facility with a mezzanine directly adjacent to Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

The 10.5 acre site has 233 parking spaces and five stormwater management ponds. This design-build project was constructed with a goal of reaching a LEED^® Gold certification and includes special glass with “bird frit” due to close proximity to the “Roaches Run” bird sanctuary. Construction began in September 2018 and has a substantial completion date of March 2021.

Designed by aquatics facility-design experts MJMA and Page, the goal for this Arlington County building form was to accentuate the gentle origami folds of the park with the clean-folded lines of the roof visible from I-395 and the air. The metal exterior design focuses on aesthetics while also meeting stringent energy-efficiency requirements, along with accounting for the unique interior challenges that an aquatic environment presents. To achieve this, Alliance Exterior Construction demonstrated exceptional craftsmanship and worked with the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center project team seamlessly. They came armed with knowledge and innovative solutions to bring the client and architects’ vision to life.

For the façade, Knight Wall Systems’ MFI® System, used in conjunction with mineral wall exterior insulation, was specified as an attachment for the metal and phenolic rainscreen wall panels, which were actually fabricated onsite due to the complicated design and the panels’ size. The wall and roof panels’ design and custom assembly provide a seamless transition between wall and roof. Alliance Exterior Construction won a 2021 Washington Building Congress (WBC) Craftsmanship Award in the Metals category for this project.