Georgia College & State University Wellness and Recreation Center

Milledgeville, Ga.
Construction Cost: $24.6 million
Area / Square Feet: 104,000
Occupancy Date: September 2012

The Student Recreation and Wellness Center at Georgia College & State University was designed to be a comprehensive health education, recreation and fitness facility that also supports indoor intramural activities. The building transforms a large impervious asphalt campus parking lot into a new green space, connecting the center with residential life.

Visitors pass through an access-control point that leads to the center’s activity spaces, which include a three-court gymnasium with an elevated jogging track, a competitive swimming pool and leisure pools, fitness and weight training areas, a large multipurpose room and administrative offices. A secondary circulation corridor connecting locker rooms, the fitness center and a cantilevered multipurpose room runs east to west, creating a natural divider between the natatorium and the gymnasium volumes. The center also houses the university’s wellness, recreational sports, student health services and counseling departments.

The project team employed many sustainable design strategies, including energy-efficient mechanical systems, daylighting, high-performance glazing and heavily fritted glass, exterior sun-control devices, bio-retention, recyclable materials, and a “super insulated” roof and envelope. Twenty-eight wall-mounted glass plaques weave together the university’s themes of fitness and sustainability and contribute to the center’s overall LEED Silver certification.

Judge's Comments

The building massing is not only nicely refined but also well used in strategically bringing in natural lighting to key spaces that in turn helps to create a dynamic interior.
— Mark Hentze

Restrained and appropriate use of materials inside and out, resulting in an enduring asset to the campus and students.
— Burke Cartwright

Very well done. Clean and simple.
— Steve Durham