Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA
Construction Cost: $45.5 million
Area / Square Feet: 120,000 SF
Occupancy Date: December 2014

The Bronco Recreation and Intramural Complex (BRIC) at Cal Poly Pomona includes a three-court gymnasium, a MAC, a climbing wall, weight and fitness areas, several multipurpose rooms, racquetball courts, a running track and a 6,500-square-foot pool.

The design challenge was to accommodate such a large program on an awkwardly shaped site, which was bound by easements, setbacks, diverse topography and a less-than-optimal solar orientation. The solution embraced the same site limitations as driving forces to actually shape the building by maximizing the ground-level footprint, extruding up, and expanding horizontally once above the constraints. However, once it became clear that the upper floors needed to be much larger than the ground level, engineers and architects designed and implemented a unique structural system to support the large cantilevers, while avoiding the exterior columns that university officials expressed they did not want to have. The building cantilevers also serve to shade the lower floors, while fritted glass fins protect the generously glazed upper floor from direct sunlight.

To frame and make a direct connection to the adjacent campus quad and amazing distant views, designers visually opened the east facade, primarily composed of glass, and physically broke open the building at the intersection of the major pedestrian paths converging at the building’s main entry. Furthermore, numerous sustainable design strategies were introduced, such as displacement ventilation, natural daylighting, natural ventilation and passive solar control.