This project involved adding new program space to the existing 1914 building and completely renovating locker rooms, offices, meeting rooms and a hall of fame. Additional space was required to accommodate a larger varsity football locker room, new mechanical equipment, emergency egress stairs and the Tradition Room, a popular meeting space with views to the field.
The exterior design challenge was to add significant new space without destroying the building’s exterior appearance or detracting from its central location at the north end of the university’s football stadium. The solution was to construct a new addition that is independent of the facility, but connected by a one-story link. Brick walls on the new hall match the color and detail found on the existing hall. On the southwest corner of the addition, materials shift to zinc panels and large expanses of glass to provide views of the field.
In the existing hall, wood display cases in the entry lobby were restored and upgraded with new lighting, and images of prominent former football players with accent lighting were installed in the corridors. Likewise, the Hall of Fame and Tradition Rooms located within the addition are surrounded with recessed wood display cases showing the school’s rich football history.