University of Colorado Boulder – Recreation Center Expansion & Renovation

  • Category
    Higher Education
  • Size
    308,000 Square Feet
  • Complete
    March 2014
  • Location
    Boulder, Colorado

Recreation center achieves LEED Platinum certification

Considered a ‘state of the art’ student recreation facility in 1971, growth in student population and demand resulted in a 30 percent deficit in square footage per student based on NIRSA guidelines. Driven by an overwhelmingly supported student referendum to fund a $63 million expansion and renovation project through an increase in tuition, the university selected the team of Davis Partnership Architects and CannonDesign to work with students and recreation center staff to create a facility commensurate with the aspirations of a major university located in an active and health conscious community. Project goals included creating a more accessible and inviting experience throughout a highly sustainable building at the LEED ‘Platinum’ Certification level, with ‘near net-zero’ energy utilization – a tall order for a 215,000 SF facility built to 1970's standards. From the start, the design team focused on integrating concepts and systems that would reduce energy consumption. The project includes daylight harvesting to reduce artificial lighting and related heat load; replacement of traditional HVAC systems with low-velocity displacement air supplemented by large diameter ceiling fans; and the recovery of waste heat generated by ice rink chillers for distribution throughout the building to supplement the hydronic heat loop, pre-heat domestic water, and heat the indoor pool before rejecting the unused portion to the outdoor pool. This and other critical design solutions brought the annual energy utilization down to below 37,000 BTU/SF. [Read More]

Project Scope

  • Architecture
  • Higher Education
  • Recreation
  • Interior Design
  • Landscape Architecture
  • Sustainability

Award Winning Project

2016 NIRSA Outstanding Sports Facilities (OSF) Award
2015 American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) 2015 Engineering Excellence Awards Merit Award
2014 Association of General Contractors - Colorado (AGC) ACE Gold Award Meeting the Challenge of a Difficult Project
2014 ENR Mountain States Best Projects Colorado/Wyoming/Kansas Merit Award - Green Project

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