Clubhouse Designed to Elevate Tennis Experience

The Owen Brown Tennis Facility is owned and managed by the Columbia Association, and consists of 10 outdoor tennis courts, 6 outdoor pickleball courts, and a Clubhouse. GTM was originally contacted to provide professional consulting services for upgrading the outdoor tennis courts, then subsequently designed a new clubhouse building to replace an existing 40-year-old wood structure in disrepair. 

The challenge of the new clubhouse design was to provide a building that would fit comfortably and functionally between the existing tennis courts, a terraced hill, 2 large trees, and a tennis bubble structure. The new clubhouse building is a pavilion structure with hip roofs and a cupola that is tucked between the 2 trees, and oriented to provide selected views for watching tennis. The Clubhouse incorporates a reception desk, restrooms, the manager’s office, a lounge area, storage, utility rooms, and vending areas. A major design feature of the building is its large, covered porch area with seating, café tables, and ceiling fans. 

The building has many environmentally conscious design features including the use of “Carbon Cure” low carbon masonry, energy efficient windows and HVAC systems, an upgraded insulation envelope, and passive cooling provided by the porch areas. The final upgrade to the facility was removing an outdated air supported bubble structure and transforming 3 tennis courts into 6 pickleball courts.