Durham College/University of Ontario Institute of Technology Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre

Construction Cost: $14 million (Canadian)
Area / Square Feet: 100,000
Occupancy Date: July 2007

The Campus Recreation and Wellness Centre, which represents a significant addition to an existing varsity gym, serves Durham College and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, and meets the sports, health and wellness requirements of the growing college and university. The new facility is placed in a central campus location, and is flanked by a main pedestrian artery that runs along the principal axis of the college and university. Located on the opposite end of the new facility is a natural green space with indigenous plants and watercourses, which creates a juxtaposition between physical activities and the calmness of the natural world.

The facility houses a regulation-size basketball gymnasium that can be divided into three courts, with spectator seating for 2,000. Above is a suspended four-lane jogging track that requires nine laps to complete a mile. A 10,000-square-foot fitness center provides state-of-the-art equipment, a multipurpose room and meeting space. A major focus of the new center is wellness, demonstrated by the inclusion of a campus medical center, counseling offices, a pharmacy, a sports medicine clinic and a physiotherapy studio.

Overall massing and material composition were viewed in relationship to existing neighboring structures, resulting in an aesthetic that utilizes masonry, horizontally delineated glazing and articulated portals celebrating sport, the sense of arrival and the experience of participation.