Orange Coast College Fitness Complex

Costa Mesa, CA
Construction Cost: $9.5 million
Area / Square Feet: 30,800
Occupancy Date: January 2007

Orange Coast College officials wanted to develop a modern athletics and fitness facility that would stand as a campus icon, uniting myriad activities that were once scattered over several buildings. They also sought to draw more students into fitness activities and to gain a competitive edge in recruiting student-athletes.

The fitness complex serves as a connector to various athletic fields and courts, providing a “front gate” to that area. Design strategies overcame existing elevations, roads, parking lots and pedestrian walks.

Designed to achieve transparency between fitness studios and the football and soccer fields that it anchors, the facility provides a connection between recreation, fitness and athletic activities. Internal transparency allows for the oversight of activities with fewer staff, and encourages socialization between users. Materials also were selected to minimize costs. For example, smooth trowel plaster was used in lieu of concrete, and the bright-orange school color is incorporated with graffiti-proof paint instead of tile. Zinc panels add a hue not commonly seen in facilities of this type while providing a lower-maintenance material than aluminum panels.

In addition to the flood of natural light into spaces, the building uses simple, energy-efficient fluorescent lighting that gives off warm, comfortable shades.