Northwestern University recently opened the Patrick G. and Shirley W. Ryan Fieldhouse on the university’s Evanston campus. Perkins+Will designed the glass, metal, and stone complex that provides unobstructed views east and north toward Lake Michigan.
The multi-purpose center will provide year-round practice and training space for Northwestern student-athletes and includes Wilson Field, a practice field that can be used for football, lacrosse, or soccer. The fieldhouse dome was specifically designed to accommodate the kicking, punting, and functional needs of the athletic programs. A series of long-span steel arches correlate to the 10-yard grid of the football field below. The new facility will also serve as recreation and event space for campus programs like University convocations and the annual philanthropic Dance Marathon.
Photo: ©Steinkamp Photography. Courtesy of Perkins+Will.
“Our design goals were to make the most of the spectacular site overlooking Lake Michigan and create an exciting presence near the northern entry to the Evanston Campus,” says Perkins+Will Design Principal Bryan Schabel, in a statement about the project.
The views of Lake Michigan are provided by an all-glass north facade that also fills the space with natural light. Additionally, the Ryan Fieldhouse cantilevers out over the space below to maintain a pedestrian path along the lakefront. The Ryan Fieldhouse represents the first component of the $265 million Walter Athletics Center, also designed by Perkins+Will, which is scheduled to open this summer.
See Also: New living/learning facility at the University of Illinois at Chicago breaks ground
Related Stories
| May 20, 2014
Kinetic Architecture: New book explores innovations in active façades
The book, co-authored by Arup's Russell Fortmeyer, illustrates the various ways architects, consultants, and engineers approach energy and comfort by manipulating air, water, and light through the layers of passive and active building envelope systems.
| May 19, 2014
What can architects learn from nature’s 3.8 billion years of experience?
In a new report, HOK and Biomimicry 3.8 partnered to study how lessons from the temperate broadleaf forest biome, which houses many of the world’s largest population centers, can inform the design of the built environment.
| May 16, 2014
Toyo Ito leads petition to scrap Zaha Hadid's 2020 Olympic Stadium project
Ito and other Japanese architects cite excessive costs, massive size, and the project's potentially negative impact on surrounding public spaces as reasons for nixing Hadid's plan.
| May 13, 2014
First look: Nadel's $1.5 billion Dalian, China, Sports Center
In addition to five major sports venues, the Dalian Sports Center includes a 30-story, 440-room, 5-star Kempinski full-service hotel and conference center and a 40,500-square-meter athletes’ training facility and office building.
| May 13, 2014
19 industry groups team to promote resilient planning and building materials
The industry associations, with more than 700,000 members generating almost $1 trillion in GDP, have issued a joint statement on resilience, pushing design and building solutions for disaster mitigation.
| May 11, 2014
Final call for entries: 2014 Giants 300 survey
BD+C's 2014 Giants 300 survey forms are due Wednesday, May 21. Survey results will be published in our July 2014 issue. The annual Giants 300 Report ranks the top AEC firms in commercial construction, by revenue.
| May 8, 2014
Sporting events in style: Infographic showcases novel stadiums of the world
UK precast concrete maker Banagher, which specializes in precast stadia solutions, has assembled a list of the world's top stadiums in terms of architectural and structural design.
| May 1, 2014
Super BIM: 7 award-winning BIM/VDC-driven projects
Thom Mayne's Perot Museum of Nature and Science and Anaheim's new intermodal center are among the 2014 AIA TAP BIM Award winners.
| Apr 29, 2014
Best of Canada: 12 projects nab nation's top architectural prize [slideshow]
The conversion of a Mies van der Rohe-designed gas station and North Vancouver City Hall are among the recently completed projects to win the 2014 Governor General's Medal in Architecture.
| Apr 29, 2014
USGBC launches real-time green building data dashboard
The online data visualization resource highlights green building data for each state and Washington, D.C.