Built in the 1950s, Reynolds Gymnasium was originally designed in the Collegiate Georgian style, with symmetry, proportion and classical ornamentation in mind. It was important to transform this dated structure constructed of brick, cut stone and a copper roof by designing a cohesive expansion that would build upon the original character. The design also needed to strengthen the east campus gateway and create a social center for the entire campus community.
The solution was a three-phased project that delivered expanded space for student recreation, student health services and an improved competition venue for the Wake Forest women’s volleyball program. In order to transform this internally focused, compartmentalized, load-bearing masonry box into a visually open, vital university hub, the renovation design required that a new structural skeleton be created. The goals of transparency and transformation emerged on the exterior through a contemporary glass treatment, while maintaining the integrity of the Collegiate Georgian framework.
The new skeleton allowed for walls and floors to be removed to provide users visual exposure to the many offerings housed within the facility. A 3,000-square-foot living room just off the main entry lobby is a popular hangout with its two-story windows, fireplace, water wall, live plants, mechanical massage chairs and comfortable furnishings located immediately adjacent to the Office of Wellbeing. The north-south primary internal concourse was also transformed and emerges as a link between the existing Reynolds Gym and new Sutton Center addition. Locating a new elevator along this concourse now provides accessible access to all areas of the facility.
Wake Forest Wellbeing Center
