US Lacrosse
National Lacrosse Center
Baltimore, MD

Completion: 2007
Size: 40,000 gsf (building)
6 Acres (park)
Cost: $25,000,000

To accommodate the rapid growth of their organization and the sport itself, U.S. Lacrosse retained Ayers/Saint/Gross to study the relocation of their facilities to Harbor Point in the Inner Harbor of Baltimore. The study included site analysis, a master plan, and the development of a building design at a conceptual level. The primary focus of the study was the integration of the proposed building and amenities within a flexible and inviting park-like open space.

Harbor Point is one of the few remaining available sites on the Inner Harbor. Once the home of an Allied Signal chrome factory, the site is now capped. It is planned for redevelopment as a mixed use area including offices, residential units, retail and a park. The redevelopment must accommodate restrictive zoning and site issues. A portion of the park is reserved for a cultural building with the intended purpose of activating the park and creating an iconic public use in the spirit of the other great museums and cultural attractions linked around the Inner Harbor. This cultural facility will be the National Lacrosse Center.

The site is organized to maximize open space at the water’s edge, to integrate an exhibition field for the National Lacrosse Center, and to collect the stormwater for the greater Harbor Point site. These site elements are complimentary since a field position near the water blends seamlessly with a similar park location. Also, the stormwater collection system will be located beneath the field. Gray water will be used for irrigation and for a fountain. An additional site challenge is the accommodation of the impervious remediation cap located four feet beneath the grade.

The National Lacrosse Center program includes office space for the administration of US Lacrosse, a museum and hall of fame. The conceptual building organization locates public uses at the street level while making the most of the dramatic site within the park and along the Baltimore waterfront. The building acts as an entry to the open space while creating an interesting and beautiful edge to the park.

The integration of the National Lacrosse Center with the open space occurs on many levels. The entry to the building is located under a dramatic cantilever creating a protected public space that allows framed views of the park, field and harbor. The museum, hall of fame and special events space are located within the cantilever that provides visitors with incredible, unrestricted views of the park, the harbor and the city.

The nature of the brown field site presented both challenges and opportunities to highlight the creation of a great civic space on the Baltimore Harbor. The proposed National Lacrosse Center and Harbor Point site are compatible and offer a rare opportunity to bring together a sport with a great history and the city which has been its historic home.