The Ohio State University Adventure Recreation Center was conceived as a satellite facility to a much larger recreation center being built on a central campus site. By locating the building near a park on the edge of campus, students are afforded better vehicular access than was possible on the central campus site. In addition, program space was maximized by utilizing a costeffective “field house” design concept.
The facility features two indoor turf fields, four wood courts, four batting cages for softball and baseball practice, a fitness area and an outdoor adventure and climbing center. Future additions will include an outdoor ropes course and a leadership challenge program. The building is organized into two parts a masonry-and-glass wing housing the outdoor adventure center, and the pre-engineered field house that contains the gyms, turf fields and fitness center. Each wing is accessed through its own control point from a single central lobby, allowing for different hours of operation.
The climbing facility combines art-wall and panel-wall structures, and includes an advanced bouldering cave — all on full display to passersby. The turf fields — which accommodate nontraditional sports such as rugby and lacrosse, as well as soccer — embrace the latest concept of full netting without dasher boards, to more closely simulate outdoor play. This feature also opens up the building and makes for quieter play.
