Caven Lacrosse Sports Complex at Clark Field

Austin, Texas
Construction Cost: $2.88 million
Occupancy Date: November 2011

The Caven Lacrosse and Sports Center is the last open field space on the University of Texas at Austin campus. Demand by students necessitated replacing the natural grass field with a synthetic turf field contoured to provide maximum playing areas for soccer, lacrosse, flag football and ultimate. A jogging track and a comprehensive exercise station area were added, along with extensive native landscaping, enhanced site lighting and a support building.

The field surface area was maximized through careful grading that respected the flood plain and strategically placed retaining walls. The support building, providing storage, restrooms and day lockers, is located at one of the primary access points. Though pedestrian access to the site is limited to the north and south edges due to the tree-covered hill on the west and Waller Creek along the east, the site has no access control points.

The support building utilizes a campus blend of orange brick, cast stone and colored concrete block. Rust-colored asphalt shingles are a scale-appropriate roofing material in a campus of clay tile roofs. Generous porches wrap around the building to provide shade and protection from inclement weather. Cast-stone blocks embedded with the logo of the Division of Recreational Sports are carefully placed in the facade to subtly brand the facility.