C&O Canal Visitor Center

Located at Lock 52 on the ruins of the C&O Canal in Maryland, the site of this small visitor center and museum provides a space for learning and reflection on a historic artifact, and the infrastructure it was once a part of. Entry into the building, which houses a simple program of lobby, gallery space, and cafe, occurs through the weathered stone walls of the drained lock itself. This tactile and spatial procession affords visitors a firsthand experience of the site’s material heritage; therefore, the design centered around preserving as much of the lock as possible and integrating it into the experiential sequence. The building form and its roof slope in response to the terrain below, leading visitors up and out of the lock to the gallery above. The gallery floor is oriented perpendicular to the axis of the lock, providing views across it to the Potomac River beyond.

A standalone viewing tower was designed prior to the full project as a preliminary exploration into wood and concrete construction, and was later integrated into the visitor center where it doubles as a stair and elevator core.