History and Cultural Center for Fairmont, WV

Design III: Site

Fairmont, West Virginia, nestled between Morgantown and Clarksburg, developed as a point of convergence. It was the halfway point between those two major towns. Three rivers converge there, offering access to transportation unlike any town in the state. Also, at its height, Fairmont hosted a convergence of cultures and ethnicities. A building meant to host the history and culture of a place that developed in a way such as this, should represent the character of this development.

Two rectangular extrusions interact and connect with one another. The smaller of these two is characterized by its yellow brick and decorative windows, unique to the facades of its neighboring buildings in the Historic District of Downtown Fairmont. This extrusion is contained within the dynamic, more contemporary, concrete one that ascends from the ground floor, to the third, ending in an extensive cantilever. The triangular pattern spanning the middle portion of the façade, as well as the steel columns that support the cantilever, are reminiscent of the Industrial Age, during which Fairmont was at its prime.

​The meditative garden, located below grade, allows guests to meditate as they descend the steps, each one gradually pulling them away from the street and into a place of tranquility.