Gym Flooring Repurposed in Iowa State Renovation

Photos by Kun Zhang/Dimension ImagesThe renovation and expansion of Iowa State University’s historic State Gym involved the removal from the existing gym of 13,850 square feet of maple flooring that was nearing the end of its useful life as a basketball court. Roughly half of that flooring was refurbished and repurposed as millwork in the new addition, spread throughout the facility in such structural elements as benches, cubbies, control desks and wall cladding along a juice bar. “We knew we were going to have to take it out, just because of all the other renovation aspects that were happening, and it just seemed a shame to toss it out,” says project architect Marty Miller of RDG Planning & Design. “So we started thinking about ways that we could use it. We did have to use some new maple, just so that we could trim out exposed edges.” The reclamation was just one small but highly visible part of a broader sustainable design that helped the ISU project achieve LEED Platinum certification — the largest collegiate recreation facility in the nation to do so.