Colby College Athletics and Recreation Center Honored by AIA New England
The Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center was recognized with a Merit Award as part of the annual program
Innovating on the traditional field house to put performance first: in building design and on the field
Colby College Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center
The state-of-the-art facility transcends conventional athletics and recreation center design, efficiently and elegantly integrating all of Colby's indoor competition venues, training areas, and other support spaces to comprehensively serve all campus athletics, recreation, and wellness programs
Sasaki teamed with Hopkins Architects for the design and implementation of the Harold Alfond Athletics and Recreation Center at Colby College in Waterville, Maine. At approximately 350,000-square-feet the facility was the largest building project in Maine at the time of construction and puts the college at the forefront of Division III athletics and as a leader in athletics facility program, quality, and performance.
The new building and surrounding landscape are the epicenter for athletics, recreation, health, and wellness on campus. This facility is home to a range of program types and venues, including a multi-purpose field house (containing an indoor track and tennis courts), ice arena, 50-meter pool, competition gymnasium, squash courts, strength and fitness center, climbing wall, multipurpose spaces, locker rooms, sports medicine facilities, offices, and outdoor amenities.
Sited on land formerly occupied by playing fields at the campus’ northwestern edge, the building provides a new gateway to the campus
The bold design complements the existing traditional campus architecture, signaling a new chapter for Colby athletics and recreation
Building Organization
The uniquely comprehensive facility is efficiently arranged and clearly organized with an emphasis on daylight and openness. The entrance invites visitors into a lobby that opens up the heart of the building and unifies around a common source of natural light and long view-sheds, functioning as a central crossroads for the new center. Major venues are sited around a central courtyard that connects all three levels and provides clarity and orientation for both visitors and everyday users. The entire building design is deliberately transparent to maximize views into venues and to intuitively articulate the building’s organization—conveying a sense of intimacy despite its expansive scale.
A two-story entry lounge connects the various programmatic elements together, creating a laid back environment for students and student athletes alike to enjoy the space together
The main circulation sits adjacent to the central courtyard and offers glimpses into the building’s activity as users ascend and descend
Glazing was strategically placed to provide daylight into major venues and create connectivity with the surrounding landscape
Level one is the competition level and contains the athletes’ entrance with immediate proximity to the sport medicine suite, all locker rooms, and access to fields
The primary public entrance is on the second level, providing spectators direct access to viewing areas for the aquatics center, ice arena, gymnasium, squash center, and field house
Offices organized in pods on level three create a communal relationship among programs and views into venues
Level one is the competition level and contains the athletes’ entrance with immediate proximity to the sport medicine suite, all locker rooms, and access to fields
The primary public entrance is on the second level, providing spectators direct access to viewing areas for the aquatics center, ice arena, gymnasium, squash center, and field house
Offices organized in pods on level three create a communal relationship among programs and views into venues
The courtyard unifies the entire building around a single external space establishing a strong point of orientation and wayfinding with visual connections between and across all levels and venues
“This project is crisp and welcoming in its design, light-filled and open in its presentation, and carefully considered in every detail to make for an exceptional experience for each and every member of the Colby community.”
Colby President David A. Greene
Designed for an abundance of light and no glare, the aquatics center is arguably the gem of the entire facility
Light filters through the aquatics center to the gymnasium which includes both competition and practice courts
The multipurpose field house contains an indoor track, tennis courts, and a climbing wall
Bold graphics anchor the walls of the field house
Windows at the end of the squash courts provide more natural light into the facility
The ice arena provides seating for 1,400 spectators
Light filters through the aquatics center to the gymnasium which includes both competition and practice courts
The multipurpose field house contains an indoor track, tennis courts, and a climbing wall
Bold graphics anchor the walls of the field house
Windows at the end of the squash courts provide more natural light into the facility
The ice arena provides seating for 1,400 spectators
Massing and Materiality
The mass of the building is broken down to a series of forms which holistically relate to the campus scale. Each of the five separate venues is clearly articulated and differentiated by size, but together they create a legible profile set in the landscape between the campus and adjacent highway.
A hierarchy of materials is used to articulate the building’s organization and to convey a sense of human scale despite its overall size. The facades that face the campus feature glass and a distinctively sheened grey brick which complements the metallic finishes used elsewhere in the building. Materials progress through a translucent polycarbonate structure to the larger scale and industrial aesthetic of the metal panels that face the nearby interstate highway.
On the exterior each of the major programmatic venues is articulated through its own volume
An innovation approach to facade installation allowed horizontal datum lines to be continuously integrated throughout the design, lending subtle elegance and cohesion to the building’s expression
Sheened grey brick complements the metallic finishes used elsewhere in the building and contextually calls back to the red brick of the Neo-Georgian campus
Sustainability
The college is one of the leading sustainable environments in the country, and is one of only four campuses to achieve carbon neutrality. Core sustainability principles related to indoor air quality, daylight and views, thermal comfort and building performance are seamlessly integrated into the building and site design to meet project goals related to health, wellness, and optimal performance of body and mind. The project is LEED Platinum certified and is targeting SITES Gold.
The project is part of a larger effort of Colby’s to improve the competitive results of its intercollegiate athletics’ programs, promote and encourage a healthy campus, and deepen its connection to the local community and region
For more information contact Chris Sgarzi.
Related Voices
Colby College Athletics & Recreation Center Selected as a 2021 WAN Award Winner
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