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Architects: Hopkins Architects, Sasaki
- Area: 350000 ft²
- Year: 2020
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Photographs:Jeremy Bittermann, Matthew Arielly
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Manufacturers: ASB Squash, Gared, Holophane, Hussey Seating, Mondo, Myrtha Pools USA, Neptune Benson
Text description provided by the architects. Hopkins Architects and Sasaki led the implementation of the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. At approximately 350,000-square-feet the facility was the largest building project in Maine at the time of construction and puts the college at the forefront of Division III athletics and as a leader in athletics facility program, quality, and performance.
The new building and surrounding landscape are the epicenter for athletics, recreation, health, and wellness on campus. This facility is home to a range of program types and venues, including a multi-purpose field house (containing an indoor track and tennis courts), ice arena, 50-meter pool, competition gymnasium, squash courts, strength, and fitness center, climbing wall, multipurpose spaces, locker rooms, sports medicine facilities, offices, and outdoor amenities.
Building Organization. The uniquely comprehensive facility is efficiently arranged and clearly organized with an emphasis on daylight and openness. The entrance invites visitors into a lobby that opens up the heart of the building and unifies around a common source of natural light and long view-sheds, functioning as a central crossroads for the new center. Major venues are sited around a central courtyard that connects all three levels and provides clarity and orientation for both visitors and everyday users. The entire building design is deliberately transparent to maximize views into venues and to intuitively articulate the building’s organization—conveying a sense of intimacy despite its expansive scale.
Massing and Materiality. The mass of the building is broken down into a series of forms that holistically relate to the campus scale. Each of the five separate venues is clearly articulated and differentiated by size, but together they create a legible profile set in the landscape between the campus and adjacent highway.
A hierarchy of materials is used to articulate the building’s organization and to convey a sense of human scale despite its overall size. The facades that face the campus feature glass and a distinctively sheened grey brick which complements the metallic finishes used elsewhere in the building. Materials progress through a translucent polycarbonate structure to the larger scale and industrial aesthetic of the metal panels that face the nearby interstate highway.
Sustainability. The college is one of the leading sustainable environments in the country and is one of only four campuses to achieve carbon neutrality. Core sustainability principles related to indoor air quality, daylight and views, thermal comfort, and building performance are seamlessly integrated into the building and site design to meet project goals related to health, wellness, and optimal performance of body and mind. The project is expected to achieve a minimum of LEED Gold certification and will be the first SITES Silver-certified project in Maine.
