First-of-its-kind sports and rehabilitation clinic combines training gym and healing spa

Parker Performance Institute in Frisco, Texas, is billed as a first-of-its-kind sports and rehabilitation clinic where students, specialized clinicians, and chiropractic professionals apply neuroscience to physical rehabilitation. Offering high-tech, cutting-edge treatment, the facility combines the vibrant atmosphere of a training gym with the healing qualities of a spa.

The building is organized into two zones, each with a distinct character. The Open Performance Zone is a high-energy space embodying athleticism and vigor with dark metal accents, turf, digital displays, and a sense of expansiveness despite a relatively small, elongated space. Designers used mirrors, exposed structural components, and natural light to animate this half of the interior. This space emphasizes cutting-edge technology.

The interior is composed of healing and massage rooms, with bright tones and indirect, color-changing circadian lighting that is customizable for patients, offering a soothing retreat. The facility provides intuitive navigation with a continuous light running above the core circulation path that is defined by a detailed feature wall.

Parker Performance Institute, Frisco, Texas. Photo courtesy Perkins&Will

These features mark the transition from the communal, highly visible training area to the zone of private care. A pattern of wood slats along the wall—also incorporating metal mesh and steel trim—creates a warm material rhythm that guides patients through the full length of the space. Branching off the main path are clean, bright pods of exam rooms with neurological and visual equipment used for light therapy, vertigo treatment, and specialized treatments for PTSD patients.

Parker Performance uses advanced tools not commonly available in clinics, from dynamic posturography and virtual reality to 3D diagnostics. The design balances this tech-forward environment with human touches, not losing sight of the emotional side of performance and recovery.

Light is strategically layered throughout to ground the experience as you walk through the building. Tall windows pull sun into the open athletic zone and translucent materials transmit natural light deeper into the space offering privacy without losing the glow of daylight.

On the team:
Owner and/or developer: Parker University
Design architect: Perkins&Will
Architect of record: Perkins&Will
MEP engineer: Purdy-McGuire
General contractor/construction manager: Skiles Group

During the second week of November, the architecture firm NBBJ launched a podcast series called Uplift, that focuses on the transformative power of design. Its first 30-minute episode homed in on designing for behavioral healthcare facilities, a hot topic given the increasing number of new construction and renovation projects in this subsector.

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