San Francisco State University, Mashouf Wellness Center

In a collegiate environment informed by myriad social, economic, academic and personal pressures, the Mashouf Wellness Center at San Francisco State University offers a healthy, welcoming place for the campus community to find balance in body and mind, work and life. Its wide-ranging program — swimming, climbing, yoga, group fitness, cardio, meditation, court sports and social gathering — welcomes the university’s diverse population with daylit, naturally ventilated spaces that support both social interaction and personal time.

Given the purpose of promoting healthy lifestyles for a diverse student body, the Mashouf Wellness Center needed to be a model of wellness and inclusivity itself. Located on a prominent intersection at the edge of campus, the facility is a new center of student life and an iconic campus gateway. The massing and design are crisp, modern and fluid, reflecting both the forward-leaning ethos of the campus and the dynamic activity within. The facility’s high visibility, large inviting plaza and transparency help create a sense of welcoming while embedding wellness in the campus fabric. An aggressive sustainability strategy will qualify the Mashouf Wellness Center for LEED Platinum certification, making it one of a handful of collegiate recreation and aquatic centers in the United States to achieve this distinction.

Complementing its social and environmental value, the Mashouf Wellness Center addresses the age-old tension between high design aspirations and the constraints of public funding. The center delivers on the idea that affordable, public universities can offer students quality inspirational environments commensurate with their personal potential.