The Ponds YMCA reflects countryside

The brand new YMCA built here in The Ponds neighborhood of Summerville is designed in a style that its architect refers to as "modern rural" or "neo-agricultural."

"It's really just the big geometry you see, the big cylinders, big trapezoids arranged in just random fashion to create a work of architecture," says Rush Dixon, the architect. "I knew I wanted to break the buildings up in different colors as well as volumes."

When Dixon received the commission for the new building a few years ago, he searched the neighboring countryside for inspiration.

After all, this is a building still in the countryside, not like the original YMCA downtown.

Besides the large shapes, Dixon noted the lattice-like boards and a barn with a greenish hue.

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Summerville YMCA

The new Summerville YMCA at The Ponds was built on the edge of town, unlike the original Y that still operates in the heart of town. These images show how architect Rush Dixon worked to incorporate a rural feel into this large, new space.

The resulting Y — which opened its doors last month — includes 25,000 square feet with a sizeable basketball gym, a wellness center and a cylindrical room where children can play while their parents work out. Its assembly of shapes provides an interesting and changing front to those approaching it in either direction along the gently curving road.

The Y was made possible here largely because The Ponds donated the 9-acre site. When Dixon talked about its design with John Morgan of the Greenwood Development Corp. — who acted as a sort of one-man architectural review board —Morgan mentioned the design of the See Wee Outpost in Awendaw.

"He didn't know I had done that," says Dixon, who worked for Stubbs Muldrow Herin at the time.

Most of the building is made of metal, except for a patch of lattice near the entrance. These boards not only shade some of the windows but also provide a bit more privacy for those working out inside.

Dixon says the goals also were to minimize construction and maintenance costs — because that helps the Y keep its rates more affordable.

"You're just at the mercy of what the material lets you do. It kind of keeps it simple," he says. "We weren't trying to do anything too literal. We didn't want to get into weather vanes and cupolas. It's pretty simple, just pure function."

Inside, the emphasis was on providing natural light, connecting with the outside, and keeping things simple.

"I think seeing all the steel and structure and insulation there is fine," Dixon says. "It just follows suit with what we're doing on the outside."

"Some Y's are very boxy," Summerville YMCA CEO Gary Lukridge adds. "This is very roomy and airy."

One of the only bits of ornament outside is the 500-pound plate aluminum circular "Y" sign.

Dixon says he did flirt with the idea of adding a windmill, which could have helped lower the monthly power bill.

"The wind pattern in South Carolina just wouldn't support it," he says. "It would have been just a lawn ornament."

Robert Behre may be reached at 937-5771 or rbehre@postandcourier.com