Recreation centers can communicate a college's brand better than most campus buildings — a concept that takes full flight in the design of the University of North Florida's Student Wellness Complex.
While the building responds to a bending site, it reinforces the university's identity with its swooping form and glazing patterns alluding to the wings of the UNF Osprey mascot. Large expanses of glass display activity while a folding perforated metal screen controls sunlight and reflects the movement of the Osprey's wings. On the opposite side of the building, an extended canopy shades the southern glass wall, marks an entry and expresses the extended head of the symbolic Osprey. "Instead of limiting the branding opportunity to interior finishes or signage, we let the building itself express the university's mascot and logo," says Tom Seymour, the co-principal in charge from Dewberry in the joint venture project with Borrelli + Partners Inc. "This allows the wellness center to be a meaningful icon on the campus and one that relates specifically to UNF."
Recreation centers can communicate a college's brand better than most campus buildings — a concept that takes full flight in the design of the University of North Florida's Student Wellness Complex.
While the building responds to a bending site, it reinforces the university's identity with its swooping form and glazing patterns alluding to the wings of the UNF Osprey mascot. Large expanses of glass display activity while a folding perforated metal screen controls sunlight and reflects the movement of the Osprey's wings. On the opposite side of the building, an extended canopy shades the southern glass wall, marks an entry and expresses the extended head of the symbolic Osprey. "Instead of limiting the branding opportunity to interior finishes or signage, we let the building itself express the university's mascot and logo," says Tom Seymour, the co-principal in charge from Dewberry in the joint venture project with Borrelli + Partners Inc. "This allows the wellness center to be a meaningful icon on the campus and one that relates specifically to UNF."
This article originally appeared in the January | February 2017 issue of Athletic Business with the title "Design Details: Collegiate branding embodied in a building'’s form." Athletic Business is a free magazine for professionals in the athletic, fitness and recreation industry. Click here to subscribe.
![[Photo courtesy of the University of North Florida]](https://img.athleticbusiness.com/files/base/abmedia/all/image/2017/02/ab.designD117_feat.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&q=70&w=400)
