With more than 2,000 students on the main campus, the College of St. Scholastica had outgrown the existing Reif Gymnasium. In response to growing sports, recreation and academic needs, the college envisioned a wellness facility that would serve and integrate its functional needs and promote its “whole student” philosophy of supporting mind and body.
Burns Wellness Commons was planned to tie into the existing gymnasium. Although the exterior was dated, the interior still provided a great wood performance court space for players and spectators. Due to tight site limitations and a desire to upgrade the overall aesthetic of the facility, the wellness center’s master plan proposed to wrap the existing gym with new construction — active spaces for recreation and athletics on one side of the existing building, and academic and wellness center spaces on the other side.
The two-level, 33,000-square-foot addition includes wellness, sports and recreation areas, including a 3,000-square-foot weight room and a 2,000-square-foot training facility, new and renovated locker rooms, equipment issue areas and laundry facilities, Nordic ski waxing and storage on the lower level. The lower level support spaces are immediately accessible to Reif Gymnasium and the Phase 1 multipurpose field house. The upper level of the addition is focused on academic facilities, with a new entry and lobby that feature a dramatic sunlit, curved glass-enclosed stairway and student lounge areas. The project also involved remodeling more than 7,000 square feet of Reif Gymnasium.
Cassie Campbell Community Centre
