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
Hotel Facilities | Oct 12, 2022
Global hotel chain citizenM opens its first Chicago property and its fifth of the year
citizenM, a global chain of affordable luxury hotels, has opened its first Chicago property—its fifth opening of 2022.
Building Team | Oct 11, 2022
Associated Materials® Celebrates the Company’s Rich History, Which Began 75 Years Ago with the Founding of Alside
Since its inception in 1947, Alside® has been a leader in innovation and continues this very commitment to excellence – in people, products and services.
Standards | Oct 11, 2022
Peter Templeton named new USGBC and GBCI president and CEO
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) appointed Peter Templeton as president and CEO.
Legislation | Oct 10, 2022
Chicago’s updated building energy code provides incentives for smart HVAC, water appliances
The Chicago City Council recently passed the 2022 Chicago Energy Transformation Code that is intended to align with the city’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 62% from 2017 levels by 2040.
Contractors | Oct 7, 2022
Nonresidential construction spending down 0.4% in August, says ABC
National nonresidential construction spending was down 0.4% in August, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Multifamily Housing | Oct 7, 2022
Design for new Ft. Lauderdale mixed-use tower features sequence of stepped rounded volumes
The newly revealed design for 633 SE 3rd Ave., a 47-story, mixed-use tower in Ft. Lauderdale, features a sequence of stepped rounded volumes that ease the massing of the tower as it rises.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 100 Medical Office Building Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
CannonDesign, Perkins Eastman, HGA, and E4H Environments for Health Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest medical office building (MOB) architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 100 Outpatient Facility Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
Perkins and Will, HDR, CannonDesign, and Massa Multimedia Architecture top the ranking of the nation's largest outpatient facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 130 Hospital Facility Architecture + AE Firms for 2022
HDR, HKS, CannonDesign, and Stantec top the ranking of the nation's largest hospital facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 6, 2022
Top 115 Healthcare Sector Contractors + CM Firms for 2022
Turner Construction, Brasfield & Gorrie, DPR Construction, and JE Dunn Construction top the ranking of the nation's largest healthcare sector contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking factors all healthcare sector work, including hospitals, outpatient facilities, and medical office buildings.
