Recreation Center Addition and Renovation

Hastings+Chivetta worked with James Madison University (JMU) to develop a significant addition and renovation to their University Recreation Center.

The original recreation center opened in 1996 and was designed to accommodate 12,500 students. With enrollment approaching 20,000, space was at a premium, and the facility was not able to serve the entire student population.

Hastings+Chivetta met with administrators and student user groups to determine program needs to ensure the updated facility will accommodate today’s needs as well as future students. The expanded facility provides students, faculty and staff with new opportunities for recreation, wellness and socialization.

The addition includes weight, fitness and cardio spaces that are 2 1/2 times the size of the current spaces. Five group fitness studios provide the university flexibility to accommodate cycling, mind-body classes and general use. The facility adds two multi-activity courts and a two-court recreation gym, as well as a 1/6-mile four-lane running track.

Other spaces include a wellness suite with assessment and training spaces, an outdoor adventure sports area with a climbing wall and an instructional pool with a current channel and a whirlpool. The new spa is four times as large as the previous one, and features rocks and a waterfall.

The renovation adds a demonstration kitchen, wellness instruction room, wellness suite with massage, personal training and small group fitness studios.

The facility also includes a instructional and meeting space equipped with state-of-the-art technology that can accommodate groups of 200.

The new building is certified LEED Silver. Sustainable efforts include recycling the lower turf, reusing field lighting in other university locations, reusing soils and natural resources and extensive use of natural light.

The Alaska Airlines Center is the premiere sports and community center for the University of Alaska Anchorage. What started as a sketch on a napkin years ago is now a 5,000-seat athletic arena built to host NCAA events, train sports teams and provide an athletic outlet to the surrounding community.

The AAC also includes an 800-seat auxiliary gym, a state-of-the-art sports medicine suite, an indoor two-lane walking and jogging track, an athletic fitness center, a gymnastics training and competition gym, a 1,500 SF divisible meeting room and a separate training and strength conditioning facility for athletes.

The facility supports the University’s specialized athletic needs, including skiing and ice hockey. The Seawolves’ volleyball, gymnastics and basketball teams train in this facility, and it supports community needs as well.

The AAC is a destination venue for concerts and family shows, and includes luxury suites and the Varsity Sports Grill restaurant. The restaurant has indoor and outdoor seating, taking full advantage of views to the nearby Chugach Mountains. It also includes six fixed concession stands.

The AAC is the showpiece of the University of Alaska Anchorage campus, built on a prominent intersection near the largest medical center in the state. The signature rounded walls and roof are covered in metal sheet, creating a distinctive ovoid shape that is unlike any building on campus. The shape allows snow to shed from the roof – a critical feature in this Alaskan climate.

Built adjacent to the Providence Alaska Medical Center, the two buildings share a 500-space parking lot.