Staying fit has always been an important part of life at college and soon it will become much easier thanks to nicer facilities for students at ASU’s downtown campus.
A rendering of what the new downtown campus SRC will look like when finished. Photo courtesy ASUBeginning in the fall of the 2013-2014 school year students will have access to a brand new student recreation complex at 350 1st Ave between Fillmore and Van Buren streets. Construction began last fall and hopes are that the complex will be completed in time for the new school year.
The idea of a new student recreation center began in the Fall of 2011. Disney, the designers of the now-scrapped new Sparky design, apparently did not take note of architecture firms SASAKI and Gabor Lorant, who got student input on the design of the building and what they wanted to see in the facility. SASAKI also designed the Olympic green for the 2008 summer Olympics in Beijing, China.
Students living at the downtown campus currently use the Lincoln Family YMCA for their recreational activities. The facility was built in 1955 and was most recently renovated in 2006 with the basketball court renovation occurring in 2012. It includes one basketball court, a small pool, as well as exercise equipment and weights.
The new $25 million, 64,000 square foot facility will have cardio equipment, multi-purpose areas, academic spaces, basketball courts, an indoor track and a pool on the roof of the facility. The Exercise and Wellness Program of the School of Nutrition and Health Promotion will have laboratory classes inside the facility as well.
In line with ASU’s ongoing effort to become more energy efficient, the building will be equipped with lots of natural light and solar heat shading with LEED silver certification. The center is funded by a student fee of $75 per semester according to an ASU press release. The fee began in 2009 and generated $110 million dollars, which was then distributed by campus for specific programs.
This is “the next step, not the last step of ASU in downtown Phoenix,” ASU president Michael Crow said during the groundbreaking ceremony last fall. “The downtown campus, with this facility now finishes its evolutionary process, the first step of that evolutionary process: an all in living learning environment, what we call emersion learning.”
Looking at the plans, the building looks very modern and the rooftop pool will be a very welcome addition and will surely be a popular spot come the fall.
One thing that the downtown campus still lacks is a large amount of green space. ASU currently utilizes the fields at ASU Prep Academy, roughly five blocks from the campus, for outdoor intermurals such as flag football and soccer.
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