Radford
University —
Student
Recreation and
Wellness
This bold new recreation facility expresses the classical character of the Radford campus while celebrating Radford's exciting future. With dramatic views over the adjacent New River Valley to the Blue Ridge Mountains beyond, the facility sports multiple destination venues.
This facility is an important place for healthy student interaction and participation, enhancing the quality of life for the entire campus community (students, faculty and staff), while providing a solid foundation for life-long healthy living habits. The design amplifies the activities within the building's highly transparent building skin, allowing the campus community and passers-by to visually experience people in activity classes, on cardio exercise equipment, and on the one-of-a-kind jogging track. This building breeds activity. Unlike any other facility, the jogging track runs between two floors of the building, rising and falling 15 feet in elevation. The building serves users with two distinct entrances, allowing portions of the facility to operate late into the night and in otherwise off hours. The interior finishes complement and highlight the dynamic architectural features of the two and three-story open spaces in the building. The character of these finishes is sensitive to the traditional aspects of surrounding campus facilities, yet showcases and reflects the vibrancy of the functions in this particular place. The interior design successfully achieves an important project objective that strongly appeals to the end user - the student. Designed in collaboration with Worley Associates Architects.