Previous |
Next |
November 07, 2008, 11:50 AM ET
A Wellness Center at the College of New Rochelle Strives to Blend With the Land
The new wellness center at the College of New Rochelle recalls landscape forms. (ikon.5 image)
The College of New Rochelle has a very handsome new fitness center — or “wellness center,” as the college is calling it — that is the first new building on the campus in 40 years.
The $28-million building may be called a wellness center because it features not only athletics facilities but also meditation areas and classrooms. Among the athletics facilities are a six-lane competition pool with seating for 200 people, a gymnasium that seats 1,500, and a fitness and aerobics center. Outdoor facilities include a meditation garden and a chapel. The rooftop garden reduces the mass of the building.
The architects, ikon.5, had to straddle the worlds of competition and contemplation. They designed the center to meet all NCAA requirements, yet they also wanted to provide a building that would encourage a “spiritual and intellectual experience.” Parts of the building are meant to evoke landscape elements: The natatorium is a grotto, the gymnasium is a rock outcropping, and the lobby concourse is a crevasse.
And they did it all in a 55,000-square-foot building that hits the silver mark on the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. Skylights reduce the need for artificial lighting, a heat-recovery system recycles heat coming off the pool, and structural concrete utilizes recycled materials, like fly ash and slag.
New York Construction magazine gave an award to the building for “best sports-facility project” in the New York City metropolitan area.
Add Your Comment
Commenting is closed.