The Workhouse [Suburban Life Lab Update]

Creating useful public space in the suburbs is not always the easiest endeavor, especially when the space was previously a prison. The Lorton Correctional Facility, located in suburban Northern Virginia, was originally built to provide an alternative to the outdated and overcrowded prisons in Washington D.C. In 2002 after succumbing to some of the same conditions it was built to resolve, the prison was an eyesore on an otherwise useful piece of land and the government needed to find a suitable use for the space.

Upon acceptance of Fairfax County’s adaptive re-use plan, the federal government transferred the land to the county. In September 2008, The Workhouse “Phase I” opened with art studios, galleries, and classrooms, with future plans for a theater. The re-use project takes advantage of existing buildings on the prison grounds as well as some new construction. The Workhouse employs a unique plan by combining an existing, and well known, location (prison) with a rethought purpose (art) to create useful public space in the suburbs.

~ by beanjah on February 3, 2009.