Cambridge Seven Associates (C7A) Inc.

1050 Massachusetts Ave.

Cambridge, MA 02138

USA

Website:

https://www.c7a.com

Phone:(617) 492-7000

Fax:(617) 492-7007

[Rendering courtesy of Moody Nolan]

New Projects: Covelli Multi-Sport Arena | Palm Beach Gardens Tennis Center | Mizzou Softball Stadium

A look at some of the latest athletics, fitness and recreation facility projects around the country.

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Active Design Spurs People Toward Movement and Exercise

Before there was LEED, there was "sustainable design." Some architects preached it, some paid it lip service, but most everybody maintained that they practiced it to some degree ...

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: Portland State University Academic and Student Recreation Center

Housing a mix of public and private uses - the ground floor incorporates retail storefronts, and upper floors are occupied by the Student Recreation Center, the university chancellor's office, the PSU School of Social Work and the City Archives - this collaborative effort between Portland State University, the City of Portland and the State of Oregon was among the most intriguing projects to AB's panel of judges. "It was a really complicated program that all had to be condensed onto one urban block," one judge noted, "and the way the designers layered different functions on different floors was really interesting. They put retail on grade, and then were audacious enough to put a pool over the retail."

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: California State University Northridge Student Recreation Center

Situated on the outer fringe of the CSU Northridge campus between future sports fields to the east and existing campus buildings to the west, the site of this new recreation center provided an opportunity for the building to delineate a new campus edge to the community, while establishing a terminus to the campus' main pedestrian axis. Utilizing this singular position, the east faÃ§ade is comprised primarily of glass, creating a "human billboard" that reveals the activities within and addresses the university's desire to advertise the recreation programs provided by the university. It's the west faÃ§ade that really caught the judges' attention, however: The three-story lobby is protected by a perforated metal veil that allows the introduction of light and maintains visibility of activities, but reads differently depending on the time of day. Commented one judge, "It's monolithic and solid by day, providing a continual play of shadows as the light changes, and transforming in the twilight to a transparent vision - a building in flux."

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: JELD-WEN Field Renovation

A 1930s-era downtown stadium that was formerly shared with a Triple-A baseball team, JELD-WEN Field is now a state-of-the-art home for MLS soccer and the Portland Timbers. Stadiums rarely feature the kind of iconic element found here: A dynamic cantilevered steel canopy clad in cedar, which replaces the smaller original roof constructed of wood timbers. The canopy covers most of the new seats in the 19,000-seat stadium, and backs up to a promenade and open concourse with public views to the action inside. It touches the concourse level at only nine points, giving the impression that it floats above the seating area; to minimize the number of supports, the design team sloped the support columns so they could function to resist both gravity loads and lateral loads from wind and earthquakes. Steel plate girders and pipe trusses interconnected by a system of steel tie rods are visible only from above the canopy.

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2012 Facility of Merit Winner: University of Massachusetts Amherst Recreation Center

Prominently sited along the university's main thoroughfare, this recreation center project centers on a public concourse that extends through the building and reaches out to the east in the form of a new landscaped quadrangle, thus creating a link between campus athletic and academic facilities. Inclusion of the new quadrangle reflects the university's commitment to a pedestrian-friendly campus and speaks to a perceived paucity of high-quality outdoor space offering opportunities for relaxation, informal recreation and socializing.

2012 Facility of Merit Winner: BC Place Renovation

Dubbed a "chameleon" by one judge, Vancouver's BC Place had a complete makeover beginning with an aggressive re-branding of its public spaces and the addition of suites and club seats prior to serving as the site of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics. This alone was enough to impress AB's judges, from the addition of vibrant colors throughout concourse portals, restrooms and concessions areas to the "phenomenal" implementation (as one judge exclaimed) of a color-coded signage and wayfinding system.

Rotating Panels Add Flexibility to Rec Center

Subdividing gymnasiums and multipurpose rooms is a standard design gambit in recreation centers, allowing for maximum flexibility.

Facility of Merit - Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center

2011 Facility of Merit Winner: Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center

Flexible in use and sensitive to its residential surroundings, the Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center in Cambridge, Mass., serves an eclectic mix of users on three levels - a lower level housing private lounge and banquet space for the local VFW (along with underground parking), and two levels of highly visible community space. The various community spaces are located within and along a two-story glass spine that traverses the length of the building, culminating in the gymnasium, which is concealed within the contour of the site at the spine's far end. This distinctive civic presence gives way on the other side of the spine to a more residential character by using a rheinzink metal cladding system, which is similar in scale to the clapboard houses on the busy residential street.

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Nov. 17-19, 2026