Built on the shores of Lake Michigan in Evanston, Ill., the Ryan Fieldhouse opened to Northwestern University students in April. Now, the Walter Athletics Center, which is connected to the Ryan Fieldhouse and was also designed by Perkins+Will, has opened as well.
The four-story Walter Athletics Center houses academic and professional development support services for more than 500 student athletes, a nutrition center and dining facility, two sports performance centers, a sports medicine and athletic training hub, sport-specific locker rooms for eight varsity teams, and office space for coaches and administrators. Additionally, the building includes a three-story LED screen with images of Northwestern’s 19 athletic programs, interactive touchscreens throughout, and wall panels with black and white images of athletes in action.
Exterior from North. James Steinkamp/James Steinkamp Photography.
A covered terrace wraps around the eastern and southern facades of the new facility to visually connect the building to the Chicago Skyline. The south and east sides of the Center overlook the outdoor football practice field and the soccer, lacrosse, and field hockey stadium.
See Also: New living/learning facility at the University of Illinois at Chicago breaks ground
A major goal of the new facility was to integrate student athletes more completely into campus life. The Center brings remote training facilities to the main campus, all near residence halls and classroom buildings. Separate, secure entrances were designed to accommodate different users such as football and Olympic sports athletes, visitors for events, staff, faculty, administration, and coaches.
Perkins+Will designed the space in collaboration with HOK. Also on the Build team was SmithGroup (civil engineer and landscape architect), WSP USA (structural engineer), and AEI Affiliated Engineers (mechanical engineer).
Ryan Fieldhouse from Southeast corner. James Steinkamp/James Steinkamp Photography.
South lobby of Walter Athletics Center. James Steinkamp/James Steinkamp Photography.
Olympic Sports Corridor. James Steinkamp/James Steinkamp Photography.
Related Stories
| Oct 15, 2014
Harvard launches ‘design-centric’ center for green buildings and cities
The impetus behind Harvard's Center for Green Buildings and Cities is what the design school’s dean, Mohsen Mostafavi, describes as a “rapidly urbanizing global economy,” in which cities are building new structures “on a massive scale.”
| Oct 14, 2014
Proven 6-step approach to treating historic windows
This course provides step-by-step prescriptive advice to architects, engineers, and contractors on when it makes sense to repair or rehabilitate existing windows, and when they should advise their building owner clients to consider replacement.
| Oct 12, 2014
AIA 2030 commitment: Five years on, are we any closer to net-zero?
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the American Institute of Architects’ effort to have architecture firms voluntarily pledge net-zero energy design for all their buildings by 2030.
| Sep 24, 2014
Architecture billings see continued strength, led by institutional sector
On the heels of recording its strongest pace of growth since 2007, there continues to be an increasing level of demand for design services signaled in the latest Architecture Billings Index.
| Sep 22, 2014
4 keys to effective post-occupancy evaluations
Perkins+Will's Janice Barnes covers the four steps that designers should take to create POEs that provide design direction and measure design effectiveness.
| Sep 22, 2014
Sound selections: 12 great choices for ceilings and acoustical walls
From metal mesh panels to concealed-suspension ceilings, here's our roundup of the latest acoustical ceiling and wall products.
| Sep 17, 2014
New hub on campus: Where learning is headed and what it means for the college campus
It seems that the most recent buildings to pop up on college campuses are trying to do more than just support academics. They are acting as hubs for all sorts of on-campus activities, writes Gensler's David Broz.
| Sep 15, 2014
Ranked: Top international AEC firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Parsons Brinckerhoff, Gensler, and Jacobs top BD+C's rankings of U.S.-based design and construction firms with the most revenue from international projects, as reported in the 2014 Giants 300 Report.
| Sep 9, 2014
Using Facebook to transform workplace design
As part of our ongoing studies of how building design influences human behavior in today’s social media-driven world, HOK’s workplace strategists had an idea: Leverage the power of social media to collect data about how people feel about their workplaces and the type of spaces they need to succeed.
| Sep 7, 2014
Behind the scenes of integrated project delivery — successful tools and applications
The underlying variables and tools used to manage collaboration between teams is ultimately the driving for success with IPD, writes CBRE Healthcare's Megan Donham.