Program:
The Recreation Center is a 120,000 SF facility and as the last piece to the campus life puzzle, the project was purposely located adjacent to academics, athletics and student housing components. Funded by student fees, the $40 million Recreation Center’s program includes a three-court gym, multi-activity-court (MAC), rock climbing wall, fitness areas, several multi-purpose rooms, racquetball courts and a running track.
Design Intent:
The challenge was to accommodate a large program on an awkward shaped site with easements, setbacks, challenging topography and less than optimal orientation.
The design solution was to use these site limitations to actually shape the building. The design team maximized the footprint and cantilevered the third floor clearing the site constraints while meeting program requirements. Neighboring sports facilities on campus were notorious for their lack of connection to the exterior and the design team wanted to shift away from these introvert buildings. The Recreation Center makes a direct connection to the adjacent campus quad and privileged views beyond by opening up to them with a façade primarily composed of protected glazing. The building entry opens at the intersection of major pedestrian paths with a naturally ventilated lobby that acts as a transition between the conditioned interior spaces beyond. A 50’ high climbing wall works as a sculptural element at the terminus of the pedestrian walkways. The building cantilevers shade the lower floors while fritted glass fins protect the generously glazed upper floor from direct sunlight. This augmented transparency allows the Recreation Center to become a human billboard of student activity. The building’s exterior skin further defines the stratification of the form with materials already found on campus: natural stone and precast concrete anchoring the base and stainless steel panels and glass elements projecting over the base. An integrated design approach, where all involved disciplines informed the process, allowed numerous sustainable design strategies to be introduced such as displacement ventilation, natural daylighting, natural ventilation and solar control.
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Sustainable Features
• LEED Gold project that beats Title-24 by 31.3%
• Optimization of access to daylight and views to the exterior.
• Naturally ventilated lobby with operable windows.
• Part of an overall campus initiative a 500KW array of Photovoltaics (PV) has been designed for the roof which will provide 30% of the project’s energy use. The building design eliminated all rooftop equipment
• Solatube skylights create a 100% naturally daylit gymnasium space while maximizing area for future PV system.
• 100% of stormwater to be collected and polished via bioswales.
• Native and water efficient landscaping with reclaimed water for irrigation.
• Water efficient plumbing fixtures beat baseline by 40%.
• Integration with campus chilled water loop and energy management systems.
• Construction waste management procedures are specified.
• Specification of recycled content and locally produced materials.
• Specification of FSC certified wood products.
• Low-emitting materials and finishes are specified.
• Integration of indoor pollutant source control measures.
