Hertz Center
Tulane University
New Orleans, La.
Year in Showcase: 2012
Project Description
This new practice facility provides a permanent home for Tulane University's basketball and volleyball programs with a two-court gymnasium, training center, locker rooms, conference rooms and offices. The building occupies the street edge and places a dramatic main entry in line with those of the nearby athletic center and baseball stadium. The second floor angles back over the locker rooms to allow future football stadium seating above, and the north facade seating and views anticipate a future plaza in place of existing tennis courts.
From the main lobby, a corridor provides views into the gym and weight room and opens up with large-graphic walls at the locker room entries. In the gym, generous but indirect natural light streams in from a clerestory to the north, and recessed openings in the corners. On the second floor, each of the three sports programs occupies a suite of offices, as well as a conference room overlooking the gym. The programs share a film room with raked seating that cantilevers over the main entry.
The corridor doubles as a hall of fame, where angled walls provide display space, and trophies sit securely on suspended acrylic shelves behind glass. Clerestory light washes through the space and into the glass-fronted suites.
Project Details
Architect Of Record: Gould Evans
Associate Architect: Lee Ledbetter & Associates
Construction Cost: $13 million
Square Feet: 43,000
Occupancy: September 2011
