This small urban space lies in the center of the Arlington County office complex, which includes retail, office, and residential uses. The site included a fountain that filled one of the spaces, but was no longer functional. The owner of the project asked us to redesign the space to encourage people to gather and socialize. Our plan proposed to demolish the fountain and replace it with a series of fixed and flexible seating opportunities.

The plans included the careful protection of these trees and the new paving and seating respects the location and grades of those trees. Sculptural wood benches are the signature of the new space and these are designed to surround the trees at the edges of the plaza to not only protect them, but to offer seating in the shade of the tress. These seats are designed to promote a variety of social experiences, for individual and group seating. Freestanding chairs are also sprinkled throughout the plaza, allowing people to shape the space to their mood and group. New paving and overhead lights add to a festive atmosphere, and the plaza has seen a resurgence of activity for the adjacent retail uses.