Designers Aspire to Dynamic Storytelling With Modern Locker Rooms

Tabatha Wethal Headshot
Creighton Bluejays Locker Room Theater View Courtesy Of Athletic Branding Co
Photo of the Creighton Bluejays Men's Basketball Locker Room, CHI Health Center courtesy of The Athletic Branding Co.

When architectural designers consider how to create a space, they’re thinking much deeper than blueprints and square footage. Colin Fowler, design director of the Sports and Higher Ed Group at Downstream, imagines not just a space, but an experience. And creating a design experience in a locker room setting that defines a team and its purpose — but also functions as a locker room — requires more than making an area to change uniforms.

“We don’t even start with graphics as sort of the entryway into this conversation, because what we do is experience design,” Fowler says. “There are five senses that you should really be thinking about. And once you start talking about graphics, we’re just talking about one of them, really. The idea for us is that these spaces — especially the locker room — are all sort of holistic journeys throughout the entire space. Whether it’s within a stadium, or an operations center, or a student performance center, whether they’re all housed together, the various sports, or if it’s a dedicated basketball locker room, or football locker room within a larger football space, it’s only a part of that journey. It’s moments within their day, but it serves a function. You’ve got to consider where you’re coming before that and where you’re going afterward.”

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