Creating a Learning Hub
The Health and Wellness Hub is an interdisciplinary complex bringing together the Allied Health, Athletics, Kinesiology, Health and Nutrition programs into one shared location. Athletics facilities, fitness studios, specialized and general classrooms, and labs and simulators to support a 4-year nursing program along with on-site offices for all program faculty are housed together in the Hub. The resulting proximity creates opportunities for the chance encounters and fruitful conversations that define a complete college experience. The three buildings comprise 66,000 SF of indoor space, connected by 13.8 acres of site development including extensive landscape areas, an outdoor walking circuit, and a 636-space parking lot. The project includes a variety of student and community amenities for outdoor gatherings at scales ranging from an “all-Hub” gathering to small group study and individual relaxation.

Architectural Response
The existing campus planning provides a compelling precedent with intimate courtyards and larger green gathering space. The design of the Health and Wellness Hub embraces these principles, with efficient volumes wrapped in simple roof planes that delineate these ‘outdoor rooms.’ Extensive glazing and operable walls combined with screening elements at building entrances blend the indoor/outdoor experience. The resulting architectural language is one that seeks to strengthen the experience of the landscape, with as few moves as possible. The client has remarked upon the ‘efficient and austere, yet very beautiful’ character of these spaces. 

A counterpoint to the intimate scale of the complex comes from the College’s desire for it to function as a billboard to potential students and the community. The tall volume of the gymnasium, combined with its role hosting competitive events, is embraced and expressed southward with a large glazed façade visible above the parking lot. Curbside lobby access gives easy wayfinding and encourages game attendance, while buffering noise-sensitive program elements such as the medical simulators housed on the far side of the Hub.

Sustainable Design
There is significant overlap between the goals of wellness and sustainability. The necessity for excellent ventilation, pervasive natural daylighting, and comfortable efficient spaces is a commonality for athletic play, wellness and fitness programs, and the professional medical academic programs. These needs have been addressed via daylight analysis and efficient mechanical systems throughout all three buildings, but also by allowing the buildings to simply be opened up to the generally mild environment when conditions are appropriate.

An impactful investment in the community
This project will be a transformative presence on campus and an investment in the College’s service to the community and the health and wellness industry in this region for decades to come.