On Richmond’s South Side, a bold red roofline rises above the trees, its gables echoing the scale and form of the homes in the surrounding neighborhood. Informed by the collective voices of the community, the TB Smith Community Center accommodates a significant program without overpowering the neighborhood beside it.
This relationship between civic presence and neighborhood character has earned TB Smith a 2026 AIA Virginia Honorable Mention for Contextual Design, a category in the commonwealth-wide awards program that recognized architecture that responds meaningfully to the physical and cultural character of its surroundings.
The same thinking carries across the site, where basketball courts, multipurpose fields, a splash pad, accessible playgrounds, and community gardens extend the center into the surrounding landscape. Inside, flexible gathering spaces, a teaching kitchen, teen-focused areas, and a light-filled gymnasium reflect priorities voiced through extensive community engagement.
Two Community Centers, Two Outcomes
AIA Virginia’s recognition affirms a principle at the heart of the project: context is an act that architecture participates in. At TB Smith, design meaningfully and intentionally strengthens the relationship between building, neighborhood, and the people who call it theirs.