With tennis tournament season in full bloom, and the French Open captivating tennis fans across the globe, the sport finds itself on an upward trajectory in America.
Given that tennis is a fine alternative to the gym and a sport all ages can appreciate, it’s no surprise the United States has seen a rise in tennis’ popularity, with 17.9 million players participating.
The facility was designed to be environmentally sustainable, complete with solar panels and LED court lights.
GTM Architects of Bethesda, Maryland, are doing their part to satiate Americans’ hunger for tennis as the company recently completed the 49,000-square-foot Long Reach Tennis Club located in Columbia, Maryland. It is one of three tennis facilities GTM Architects has worked on in recent years.
The Long Reach Tennis Club is a pre-engineered steel frame structure with six tennis courts. The center portion of the building is a clubhouse area that houses a reception area, pro shop, viewing lounge, refreshment bar, offices, locker rooms, elevator, storage and utility rooms. The clubhouse area includes a mezzanine level for viewing tennis through large interior windows, and also has a galley, restrooms and meeting areas.
The facility was designed to be environmentally sustainable, complete with solar panels, LED court lights, electric car charging stations, above code insulation, high efficiency HVAC systems, and on-site bio-retention facilities. Long Reach will also be the first Columbia Association tennis facility with on-site racket stringing service.
The project’s design team included GTM Partner, David Konapelsky, associate Traci Weems and project coordinator Karina Perez-Ayalde. Established in 1989, GTM Architects is an award-winning design firm that offers architecture, planning, and interior design services.
Columbia is a census-designated place in Howard County, Maryland, United States, and is one of the principal cities of the Baltimore metropolitan area. It is a planned community consisting of 10 self-contained villages. Opened in 1967, Columbia is the second most populous community in Maryland after Baltimore. Recent estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey put the population at approximately 103,467 as of 2015.
