Gallery
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham Campus Recreation Center is a multipurpose facility which comprises an enormous number of different sports, leisure and ancillary functions. The design is well integrated into the natural and built environment and very well adapted to the sports and recreational needs of the university students, inviting them to take part in many different sports and social activities. An overall success!”International Olympic Committee and International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities - Special Distinction
Description
The student recreation center at the University of Alabama creates a new focus of activity for this decentralized urban campus. Prominently located at the intersection of a newly designated pedestrian axis and University Boulevard, the campus’s major thoroughfare, the 150,000 sf student recreation center anchors the first of a series of open courtyards and sets a standard for future development around a new quadrangle. The leisure pool, with multipurpose aerobic rooms above, is the core of the building. Around these functions are organized a four-court gymnasium, racquetball courts, and an auxiliary gym for indoor soccer/hockey. A two-story weight and fitness area faces the boulevard, enlivening the building from the street. The climbing wall occupies a tower, defining entry to the building and a threshold to the campus. The jogging track, extracted from its traditional location within the gym, circumscribes the pool, providing a dynamic jogging experience and animating the spaces through which it threads.
Distinctions
- AIA Birmingham
- AIA Honor Award
- AIA State of Alabama
- Merit Award
- International Olympic Committee and International Association for Sports and Leisure Facilities
- Special Distinction
-
“The University of Alabama at Birmingham Campus Recreation Center is a multipurpose facility which comprises an enormous number of different sports, leisure and ancillary functions. The design is well integrated into the natural and built environment and very well adapted to the sports and recreational needs of the university students, inviting them to take part in many different sports and social activities. An overall success!”
- College Planning & Management
- Honorable Mention
- National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association
- Outstanding Sports Facility
-
“Track was unique feature – allowing views to the majority of the areas within the facility – making participants engaged in all activity visible. The daylighting and views of the outside, as well as internal sightlines, make it a very active, attractive space. A strong architectural statement. Vibrant interior.”
- Recreation Management
- Innovative Architecture & Design Award
-
“A well-balanced palette of exterior materials with a strong sculptural quality. Great use of simple materials - spatial flow - soothing yet exciting colors. Very graceful, almost a spiritual quality. Very interesting arrangement of spaces. The play organized around the track works well and creates an interesting focal point.”
- Society of American Registered Architects
- Award of Honor