PROJECT  Torpedo Factory Arts Center

ARCHITECT  Winstanley Architects & Planners

LOCATION  Alexandria, Virginia, US​

PROJECT COMPLETION DATE  7/1/2019

ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN TEAM  George Eisenberger AIA, Michael Winstanley AIA, Leejung Hong LEED AP, Mike Balaban, Chan Park, Assoc. AIA, Bence Szaloki, AIA
OWNER/CLIENT  Route 66
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PHOTOGRAPHER  Lifang Renderings
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SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT  
The Torpedo Factory Art Cener was originally the former U.S. Naval Torpedo Station – a naval munitions factory on the banks of the Potomac River in Old Town, Alexandria, Virginia. When the Torpedo Factory Art Center was unveiled in 1974, the development and investment by the City was a tremendous success with many locals and tourist visiting the TFAC throughout the years and providing a thriving economy for the City of Alexandria.

“The mission of the Torpedo Factory Art Center is to foster connections among the artists and the public that ignite the creative spirit. We provide dynamic interactions with the arts through our community of visual artists, exhibitions, and programs. We offer art up close, in person, and in progress.”

Today, 50 years later, there is a unique opportunity to update the mission and programming of the TFAC with a broader and more inclusive vision that better aligns with the diversity and interests of the City. Embracing an expanded vision for the TFAC is critical to fulfilling its potential as the epicenter of the Alexandria Waterfront in the decades to come.
Our approach to re-envisioning the TFAC starts with expanding the reach to recognize various types of artists and their respective crafts including the culinary arts, multimedia arts, computer generated arts, graphic arts and other forms of artistic expression.
As part of our vision to increase the visibility of the artists, the plan proposed to add other programs on the ground floor to increase visitation to TFAC. We are proposing that the culinary arts become part of the TFAC that will showcase the culinary talents of a diverse set of proprietors.

The second floor will consist exclusively of working artists and gallery spaces to reflect and showcase the visual arts that have been at the heart of the TFAC for the past 50 years.

The third floor is intended to cover the addition of 21st century arts, including a maker space for physical creations, a digital art and media lab for digital and social media creations, a center for entrepreneurship + incubator space for local business creation, and a rotating exhibition space to keep the TFAC fresh and continuously updated.

A key ingredient to transforming the potential of the TFAC is the development of a new top floor that embraces a new home for the Alexandria Archaeology Museum, a new event space for conferences and events, a new restaurant with stunning waterfront views, and a publicly available indoor/ outdoor observation deck.

JURY COMMENTS (If applicable)

The Jury appreciated this community-focused adaptive reuse project, which promotes public access to the waterfront and reimagines a landmark building as a new social condenser. The excavation of the central bays to introduce a light-filled sculptural atrium is a transformative gesture—bringing daylight deep into the building’s plan and establishing visual connections across its various zones. This intervention achieves maximum impact while preserving as much of the original building fabric as possible.

IMAGES (Captions and Photographer Credit)
1. TFAC Atrium
2. Torpedo Center Arts Center
3. TFAC Atrium
4. Rooftop Restaurant
5. TFAC Maker Space
6. TFAC Event Space
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