Coe College Athletic and Recreation Center

Cedar Rapids, IA
Construction Cost: $18 Million
Area / Square Feet: 120,000
Occupancy Date: September 2017

Coe College set out to transform their athletic and recreation buildings with

a strategy to maximize their existing inventory of facilities. In the 1930s, Eby

Fieldhouse was constructed at the north end of the campus quad. Several decades later, in the 1970s, a natatorium was added to the east followed by the construction of the Clark Racquet Center further east across

College Drive.

At the start of the project, Coe College and the design team set the overarching vision to provide athletics and recreation facilities commensurate with their competitors. Three driving goals followed the vision: provide

athletes with quality locker rooms, increase the amount of court space for practices and intramurals, and better utilize the existing

buildings.

Given the tight site constraints and the desire to maximize existing facilities, the expansion wrapped around three sides of the natatorium. The result hid the unsightly building, while honoring the function of the initial investment. The wrapping solution gives prominence to the new addition, which includes a performance court to the north, a wrestling suite and fitness space to the east, and an athletic weight room to the south that anchors the corner of the quad. A fitness bridge across College Drive connects all of the facilities together to form Coe’s Athletic and Recreation Complex. The result is a

network of resources highlighted by a bold addition that reaches out to the campus and proudly displays the Kohawk spirit.