Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Middlebury College: Virtue Field House and Athletic District Master Plan

  • 12/01/15
Middlebury College: Virtue Field House and Athletic District Master Plan

PHOTOS © JEREMY BITTERMAN

The virtue field house for Middlebury College in Middlebury, VT, is one of the most unique recreation, training and competition venues in collegiate athletics. This flexible facility replaces an outdated and uninspiring facility formerly called “the Bubble” with one that breaks away from field house precedents, featuring a 200-meter track, a technology-rich lobby that doubles as event space, and more than 20,000 square feet of athletic field turf to allow for year-round field practice.

Designed by Sasaki Associates, the Virtue Field House emphasizes flexibility and function. The 120,000-square-foot field house is now active at all times of day, every day of the week, alternately used by varsity athletes, general students, and residents from the town of Middlebury. It provides much needed indoor practice space, recreation space, a competition track, and improved spectator accommodations — seating 500 for track-and-field competitions and holding up to 5,000 for functions. The subdued scale, extensive glazing, elegant landscape design and meticulous interior detailing make the building a showcase the school is proud to open up to visiting teams, prospective and current students, parents, alumni and the surrounding community.

A rigorous master planning and programming effort led by Sasaki determined the size and location of the facility and ensured the building would tie to its context, within surrounding athletic facilities and the rest of campus.

Energy use was also a key consideration in the design. Middlebury was able to achieve significant reduction in energy consumption due in part to the eight 24-foot-wide ceiling fans circulating air, efficient LED lighting, super-insulated walls and ceilings, ultra-efficient mechanical systems, and an abundance of natural light to reduce the need for overhead illumination. The school is also in the process of seeking LEED Gold certification for the facility.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • California District Opens New Robotics Center

    The Fremont Union High School District (FUHSD) in Cupertino, Calif., recently held a Grand Opening ceremony for a new, district-wide Robotics Center, according to a news release. The 14,500-square-foot facility was designed by Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA); Landmark Constructors served as the builder and Blach Construction as general construction manager.

  • URI Cuts Underwater Ribbon on New Ocean Robotics Laboratory

    The University of Rhode Island recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new Ocean Robotics Laboratory at its Narragansett Bay Campus, according to a news release. Two students used a remotely operated vehicle to cut an underwater ribbon in a 30-by-20-foot test tank.

  • How Proactive Maintenance Can Transform Athletic Facilities into Strategic Assets for College Sports

    College athletics is entering one of the most transformative periods in its history. With NIL reshaping financial models and competitive expectations, athletic departments across the country are being asked to do more than ever with increasingly constrained resources.

  • Dallas-Area District Debuts Three New Facilities

    The Duncanville Independent School District in southwest Dallas, Texas, recently held ribbon-cutting ceremonies for three new facilities that resulted from a $170-million bond program passed in 2023, according to a news release.