Recent upgrades to the CougarPlex Fitness Center at Illinois Central College included a 54,000-square-foot addition and a 9,000-square-foot renovation. Adding a dynamic student fitness center and athletic training facility to the existing 1970s-era building required a portion of the existing facility to be removed to create an interior courtyard, which functions as a buffer between the old and new facilities. The new building entrance allows students and spectators to traverse the center of the new expansion, reinforcing the synergies between old and new buildings.
The existing competition gym with renovated locker rooms and weight training area is now supplemented by a new lobby/entry area, a café, an athletic department suite, classrooms and meeting rooms, group exercise rooms, student locker rooms, an expansive exercise equipment area, a jogging track and a three-court practice gymnasium, as well as administrative and athletic support areas.
The three-court gymnasium anchors the site to the northeast, balancing the plan against the existing competition gym. The “bent bar” addition to the west contains the fitness program elements, including locker rooms, studios and the fitness area on the second floor. Maintaining more than 75 percent of the existing structure, along with the use of materials with high recycled content for the metal panels and sun shades, helped the building achieve LEED Silver certification.
Mustang Stadium Stevenson University
