Big Building on Campus

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ASSASSI PRODUCTION

Imagine 39,000 college students trying to share 2,500 square feet of recreational space. You do the math. It's much worse than packing a dozen frat boys in a Volkswagen.

"The old space was horrible and could only fit about 25 people working out at one time," says Suzi Halpin, director of the Rec & Wellness Center/Student Union at the University of Central Florida in Orlando. "So the need was tremendous."

Without a doubt. Only three decades old, UCF is a relatively young institution by collegiate standards. Still, it faced the timeless challenge of the student population's needs outpacing campus facilities.

"It's all about funding and waiting your turn," Halpin says.

Well, recreation's turn finally came for the campus with the new 84,000-square-foot Recreation Services Building, only about 33 times bigger than the tiny, old facility. Now about 3,500 students each day use the new Rec & Wellness Center, with the average user working out about three times per week. A few students use it as much as a staggering 150 times a semester.

"There's a serious need on campus, and now it's here, and students love it," Halpin says. "It becomes almost a second Student Union. It's a really social environment."

In fact, by 4 p.m., just as activities are winding down at the Student Union, traffic at the Rec & Wellness Center picks up and stays in full swing well passed 10 p.m., with many users remaining until close at midnight.

"We'd stay open 24 hours, but we need six hours to clean," Halpin says. The building opens every day at 6 a.m.

Besides the obvious goal of improving the quality of student life, the Rec & Wellness Center illustrates UCF's noticeable shift from a commuter school of sorts to a more traditional residential campus, a real home for students. The architects and the university worked closely together on the project—and it shows.

"What you see as a result of the collaboration is a very usable, student-friendly space," Halpin says. "The usage numbers are very huge: about 13,000 unique [individual] users per month."

The design takes its cues from key architectural forms and existing materials on campus. Large amounts of glass allow views into and out of the facility.

"The openness of the building is very unique," Halpin says. "You can walk in and see pretty much the whole place. It's very inviting. People walk in, look around and say 'Wow.'"

At the entrance, a 50-foot masonry and glass cylinder house a 40-foot freestanding climbing wall, which has become signature element for the southern portion of campus. The building itself sports an easy layout.

"There's a nice flow so people don't get bogged down at certain spots," Halpin says. "There's good energy for people working out."

Another interesting aspect to the project: The students are the ones in charge, from handling maintenance issues to setting the staff schedule.

"The whole building is now student-run, from open to close, which is great," Halpin says. "We're proud of that."

"Simple and effective use of color, good visual variety. Wonderful interior-exterior relationship. Simply gorgeous." —Michael Bourque "The strong detailing and balanced use of materials make this project an exciting place for the students at the University of Central Florida. A strong sense of spatial quality gives the users and abundance of natural light and interplay between different elements within the building." —Reed I. Voorhees