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

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • Full Sail University Announces First Student Housing Facility

    Full Sail University in Winter Park, Fla., recently announced that development has begun on its first student housing community, according to a news release. The university is partnering with Nvision Development for construction and long-term management of the facility, which will stand five stories and have the capacity for more than 570 beds.

  • North Texas School District Completes Third New Elementary School

    The Denton Independent School District in Dallas, Texas, recently finished construction on its third prototype design elementary school, Reeves Elementary, according to a news release.

  • California School District Completes Elementary School Modernization

    The San Diego Unified School District in San Diego, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting for a whole-site modernization of Pacific Beach Elementary School, according to local news. The school first opened with one building in 1930 and added six more between 1938 and 1957.