Columbia’s Parks and Recreation Administration Building establishes a forward-looking identity for the department while answering a steady need for welcoming community meeting space. Nestled among mature trees on a bluff overlooking Earlewood Park, the center is made up of two pavilions, one for the public and community and one for the City Parks Department staff, joined by a breezeway into a small campus of roughly 10,000 square feet. A public plaza serves both buildings and links to existing parking to the north, disc golf to the west, and the tennis courts to the south.

Each building reads as a simple, carefully detailed form, and together the two establish an iconic yet restrained presence deferential to the park landscape. A stone-veneered plinth sets the ground plane, with steel pipe columns and a glu-lam wood roof rising from the base. Aluminum curtain walls infilled with glass, spandrel, and stained wood create a light, transparent facade that opens the buildings to the outdoors. The design also carries many sustainable principles, including recycled materials, energy-efficient mechanical systems, generous daylighting, ample views, and minimal site impact.