Page 23 - spaces4learning, July/August 2020

some use of space in the building, and one critic wondered whether the enormous facility actually would lead to Big Ten football success. That being said, accolades in the coverage included “spectacular,” “structural drama,” and “sometimes breathtaking.”
There’s been a minor wrinkle or two, which is no surprise for a project of this magnitude. For example, more interior doors should have been equipped with windows—many have been changed out accordingly—and there are vibrations from weights hitting the floor of a second-story weight room; with staff working toward solutions, says Kennedy. On the other hand, decision makers purposely held back on fitting out every space with furniture and equipment, an adroit move in that, as Kennedy explains, they were waiting to learn precisely “how people would use and flow through the facility.”
Creating a hub of activity and integrating it fully into the life of a campus doesn’t happen overnight. Nor are all of the
potential uses, both athletic and non-athletic, of a new hub known and set automatically. In other words, new facilities and capabilities generate new demands on spaces; a welcome problem, so to speak. Accordingly, scheduling the evolving use of the fieldhouse and the athletic fields is a work in progress, Kennedy explains. The approach at Walker-Ryan has been conservative, he says, in terms of volumes of non-athletic, outside functions. That being said, there have been a number of events, including an alumni gala hosted by television host Stephen Colbert, a Northwestern alumnus.
As mentioned, not everything that goes into a major sports facility can be planned with precision. And surprises can result. As Kennedy sees it, the most welcome development since the 2018 opening of the complex has been the extent to which people use it and the quality of the interactions there.
For sure, the complex at Northwestern was envisioned
and designed to bring together student athletes, faculty, administrators and staff into an advanced facility at a prime location on campus with little room to spare for such a project. Accordingly, Walter/Ryan consolidated athletic team spaces. But something remained to be discovered: the extent to which interaction would take place—and precisely how building users would not just occupy the space, but embrace it. Kennedy believes that question has been answered.
Things have worked out. Exceedingly well, in the view of Kennedy, who notes, “the sense of community” among student athletes, who have immersed themselves not only in the sports facilities but every function and space of the complex. In the process, young people are forging strong relationships within and across teams. Simply stated, “student-athletes are spending more time around each other because they are there” at the new facility, attracted by what it offers. He says, in fact, “it’s been incredible to watch the way it has affected them in their preparations academically, socially, athletically, and for their professional development—in every aspect of themselves.”
As a result, Kennedy calls the athletic complex “transformational for our entire department, all 19 teams and 527 student-athletes. It’s just been a complete game-changer for us. This is not a minor upgrade. This is a dramatic upgrade for us.”
Some tips about creating the right athletic facilities:
• Know what you don’t know and say so. Then get the experts
involved. Such broadly defined experts include campus
and outside architects, athletic department administrators, faculty, students, staff and workers: all will use the building and know its spaces extremely well.
• Enable a sense of ownership for those experts. Start that process at the front-end of a project to renovate or construct a sports and fitness facility. Doing so will pay dividends through the life of a building.
• Make lemonade. Got lemons, such as limited space on campus? Then welcome the opportunity to save space by consolidating functions within a quality, shared facility. In other words, create a sports and fitness facility that touches as many teams and students as possible.
Scott Berman is a freelance writer with experience in educational topics.
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