Memorial Field House, once the lovely Collegiate Gothic (ca. 1933) centerpiece (along with neighboring University Hall) of the University of Toledo campus, took its share of abuse after a new athletic arena made it redundant, in 1976. The ultimate insult occurred when the ROTC used it as a paintball venue.
All that changed in 2006, when the university, facing a burst in student enrollment, an expansion of program offerings, and concern about future space needs, commissioned a major overhaul that, three years later, recast the 134,200-sf gymnasium into a LEED Gold learning environment housing classrooms, teaching labs, faculty offices, and space for future growth.
The extensive Building Team, led by Cincinnati’s BHDP Architecture, literally constructed a building within a building, expanding the single-floor high-bay arena into three floors within the existing building envelope. The tri-level structure, with its exposed steel truss supports, features a dramatic cruciform skylight above a “Town Hall” atrium that has become one of the most popular meeting and study spaces on campus.
Planning for the project ensured that the university would have sufficient classroom space to meet its enrollment projections through 2020. Fifty-four classrooms, varying in size for classes of 20, 30, or 40, were built. A practice gym was converted into a 250-seat, three-screen auditorium; another was repurposed for language laboratories. The “Collegiate Loft” on the new third floor houses the UT Center for Teaching and Learning. The latest A/V equipment—flat panel monitors, electronic whiteboards, audience response systems—enables multiple teaching styles.
Memorial Field House was the university’s first LEED Gold building. Two noteworthy innovations: 1) the Building Team kept a chilled water plant housed in the building’s central courtyard fully operation, along with a 15kV electrical substation and main campus communications fiber; and 2) the team field erected new air-handling units in two old basketball gyms and integrated engineered smoke control with the new skylight system.
“They definitely did their homework,” said jurist Tom Brooks, VP of Reconstruction at Chicago’s Berglund Construction. “They maintained the façade, which is important to me, and did it all on a budget so low it almost looks like a typo.” For the record, construction costs were $21.5 million, or $160/sf. BD+C
PROJECT SUMMARY
Building Team
Owner: The University of Toledo
Submitting firm: BHDP Architecture (architect, interior designer)
Civil/structural engineer: Poggemeyer Design Group
MEP engineer: Heapy Engineering
Program analyst: Comprehensive Facilities Planning, Inc.
General contractor: A. Z. Shimina, Inc.
A/V, IT, acoustics consultant: The Sextant Group
Steel construction: Mosser Construction
Cost consultant: ProjDel Corp.
General Information
Area: 134,200 gsf
Construction cost: $21.5 million
Construction time: January 2006 to January 2009
Related Stories
| Dec 28, 2014
7 fresh retail design strategies
Generic ‘boxes’ and indifferent service won’t cut it with today’s savvy shoppers. Retailers are seeking a technology-rich-but-handmade vibe, plus greater speed to market and adaptability.
| Dec 28, 2014
Workplace design trends: Make way for the Millennials
Driven by changing work styles, mobile technology, and the growing presence of Millennials, today’s workplaces are changing, mostly for the better. We examine the top office design trends.
| Dec 28, 2014
AIA: Commercial glass façade and door systems
When it comes to selecting fenestration systems—particularly glass facades and door systems—a number of factors come into play, requiring a thorough evaluation of a project’s individual requirements.
| Dec 28, 2014
10 essential habits of successful architects
Want to take the next step as a design processional? John Gresko, Senior Project Architect with HDR, explores the traits that many great architects possess.
| Dec 28, 2014
10 unglamorous things architects do
An acquaintance recently asked me about the kinds of things I did on a day-to-day basis at work, anticipating a response loaded with enviable activities. She was wrong, writes HDR's John Gresko.
| Dec 28, 2014
New trends in ceiling designs and materials [AIA course]
A broad array of new and improved ceiling products offers designers everything from superior acoustics and closed-loop, recycled content to eased integration with lighting systems, HVAC diffusers, fire sprinkler heads, and other overhead problems. This course describes how Building Teams are exploring ways to go beyond the treatment of ceilings as white, monolithic planes.
| Dec 27, 2014
7 ways to enhance workplace mobility
The open work environment has allowed owners to house more employees in smaller spaces, minimizing the required real estate and capital costs. But, what about all of their wireless devices?
| Dec 27, 2014
'Core-first' construction technique cuts costs, saves time on NYC high-rise project
When Plaza Construction first introduced the concept of "core first" in managing the construction of a major office building, the procedure of pouring concrete prior to erecting a steel frame had never been done in New York City.
| Dec 23, 2014
5 tech trends transforming BIM/VDC
From energy modeling on the fly to prefabrication of building systems, these advancements are potential game changers for AEC firms that are serious about building information modeling.
| Dec 22, 2014
What Building Teams can learn from home builders' travails
Commercial and residential construction can be as different as night and day. But as one who covered the housing industry for nearly a decade, I firmly believe AEC firms can learn some valuable lessons from the trials and tribulations that home builders experienced during the Great Recession, writes BD+C's John Caulfield.
