Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Washington University: Francis Field House

  • 05/01/18
Washington University

PHOTOS © HASTINGS+CHIVETTA ARCHITECTS, INC. / FENTRESS PHOTOGRAPHY

Washington University’s historic Francis Field House has been transformed by Hastings+Chivetta Architects and Bohlin Cywinski Jackson into a 21st-century fitness, athletic, and recreation center. Built in 1902, Francis Field House is a registered historical landmark and was the site of the 1904 Olympic Games. The new LEED Gold Gary M. Sumers Recreation Center, created through an addition and renovation to the Field House, is an innovative facility that honors its historic legacy.

The original entry to the Field House was restored as the main access point from the expanded facility. All floors in the “head house” were removed, creating a multi-story space through which a 16-foot-long bridge, surfaced with hardwood salvaged from the original gymnasium floor, connects old and new and serves as the primary control point for day-to-day users. A multi-story fitness center is the heart of the plan, surrounded by multipurpose lounge and support spaces, with direct access to all other components of the facility. A new three-court gymnasium with track was added to the south with athletic locker rooms and meeting and training spaces below.

Floor-to-ceiling windows, skylights, and clerestories provide ample daylight that permeates the facility. Articulated wood surfaces with reveals between panels are a subtle and sophisticated incorporation of the university’s red color. A dramatic art installation covers the interior entrance wall. The recreation gym features the largest stained wood gym floor in the Midwest, which celebrates the significant history and location of the university in St Louis, MO.

Both the new addition and a 1980s Athletic Complex addition were wrapped in a glass-enclosed colonnade featuring masonry piers capped with Indiana limestone and aluminum panel details, thus preserving the architectural and visual integrity of the original Field House.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management May 2018 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Niles West High School Natatorium Renovation

    Natatoriums are highly specialized spaces, and luminaires in this setting face several unique challenges. Perhaps the most significant is corrosion, which is exacerbated by high indoor humidity, condensation, and pool chemicals, often resulting in material degradation in luminaires not certified to perform in corrosive environments.

  • Spaces4Learning Trends & Predictions for Educational Facilities in 2026: Part I

    We asked, you answered, and the results are in! Last year, we put out a call for submissions to collect our readership’s opinion on trends and predictions for K–12 and higher education facilities in 2026.

  • DLR Group Appoints New K–12 Education Practice Leader

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has named its new global K–12 Education leader, Senior Principal Carmen Wyckoff, AIA, LEED AP, according to a news release. Her teams have members in all 36 of the firm’s offices in the U.S., Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Europe, and Asia.

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

Digital Edition