MILWAUKEE, Wis.—Earlier this year, a dedication ceremony was held in Milwaukee, Wisc. for the first phase of Marquette University’s new $24 million Athletic and Human Performance Research Center (AHPRC).

The 46,000-square-foot innovative multi-purpose facility is the new permanent home for men’s and women’s lacrosse and men’s golf, and combines training, testing and research all under one roof. It also integrates athletics and research to develop new fitness technologies and advance the use of data analytics to improve performance and include those of athletes with special needs.

The first phase of this project was designed by architecture and design firm Perkins and Will and multidisciplinary design firm HGA Architects. Mortenson Construction is the general contractor on this project.

There was an urgency in that in their six years of existence, the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams have been without permanent locker room space. This new facility has given Marquette a competitive advantage for recruiting, according to Christopher Stolarski, Associate Director of University Communication. Player development and program culture have been enhanced by combining locker, office and training facilities, with key fitness research being conducted onsite.

Additionally, the AHPRC launched a pilot award program designed to facilitate and foster collaborative health- and performance-related research between disciplines. The first four pilot award winners were announced recently. Projects focus on stroke rehabilitation, diabetes, student-athlete injuries and concussion recovery.

“Our team has approached Phase 1 with a focus on refined design, high-caliber building materials, appropriate site use, and preparing the AHPRC for future expansion,” explains Lindsey Peckinpaugh, leader of Perkins and Will’s Sports, Recreation, and Entertainment practice in the Chicago studio.

“We view this as a project that will allow Marquette to serve unmet needs of its athletic program and advance the university’s commitment to research on athletic and human performance,” she adds.

This first completed phase includes space for faculty researchers, locker rooms and support space for lacrosse and golf teams, and strength and conditioning space for the athletic department. It also includes a team film room, and research and bio-assessment labs.

“Our partnership with Perkins and Will and HGA brought to bear a facility that does something truly unique in bringing together under the same roof an elite Division I NCAA athletics program and world-class researchers in human performance, rehabilitation and exercise science,” says Lora Strigens, Marquette’s vice president for planning and facilities management.

“Every step of the way, our design partners took great care to understand the needs of our student athletes, our researchers and how to create synergies between the two,” she adds.

The biggest project challenge so far has been from a design perspective. Peckinpaugh says a significant driver in this project was the need to meet aggressive speed-to-market demands.

“This resulted in phasing the project to deliver new athletic spaces as quickly as possible, which kept the project moving efficiently; minimizing disruption while balancing the needs of the research program and all sport and strength conditioning spaces.”

With the interior design, Stolarski says it was important to “meld” the aesthetics and branding surrounding the building’s athletic and research components.

“Utilizing a refined finish palette allowed both program components to interweave into the overall building design, and complementary branding design elements to contribute to the ‘wow’ factor for both athletics and research,” he explains.

“Phasing also influenced the architectural design as well, as it became critically important to ensure that Phase 1 felt completed, but also allowed for seamless integration with future phases,” adds Russell Wilson, project architect with HGA, who led the exterior design and served as associate architect and structural engineer of record.

“The design team resolved this challenge through the use of strong vertical rhythm and exterior features, such as sunshades and horizontal projections, and by borrowing from the material palettes of other campus buildings,” he says.

Key features of the impressive project include:

• Branded lockers for the players, customized for each sport.
• A customized engagement process that prioritized the input of players, coaches, researchers.
• A tailored approach to this facility which sets it up for easy phasing in the future.
• A team film room where teams and coaches can have larger meetings or review game and practice films.
• Generously daylit strength and conditioning space that coaches call a “game changer.” This space includes a turf area and cardio mezzanine that overlooks the entire space.
• Nutrition options to aid in post-workout recovery.
• Research and bio-assessment labs to analyze athlete fitness and training data, with the goal to improve performance and training methods in both Athletics and other programs.

The AHPRC is part of a long-term master plan that will be built in phases. Perkins and Will, HGA and Marquette are currently discussing what elements may be in the second phase of the facility. Marquette University will also continue to address the needs of its athletic program and be responsive to research growth over time.

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NORTHFIELD, Minn. – Carleton College’s music department is no longer divided between two buildings now that HGA Architects has delivered a brand new 55,000-square-foot multidisciplinary arts complex – dubbed the Weitz Center for Creativity.

Carleton College worked with the Minneapolis offices of HGA Architects and McGough Construction to design and build the new music and performance commons addition.

The $36 million complex was created to accommodate the majority of the music program while creating a new performance space of high acoustic quality to replace the existing Concert Hall.

“The design of the Music and Performance Commons addition consolidates and incorporates the disparate music department into this thriving center for the arts – breaking down barriers between music, theatre, and dance departments to create flexible academic program space utilized across multiple disciplines,” said Rebecca Krull Krailing, HGA senior project manager.

Music faculty offices, rehearsal spaces, the music resource library and teaching studios were also included in the project.

 “Having to work within a limited site area and height restrictions, the design team craftily composed the three-level addition, taking into consideration acoustic isolation and shared program efficiencies,” said Krailing. “The addition seamlessly integrates into the existing complex with skillfully crafted brick detailing and massing that responds sensitively to the adjoining residential neighborhood.”

The centerpiece of the addition, a 400-seat Kracum Performance Hall, was designed to fulfill a variety of programmatic needs.

First and foremost, it had to function as an acoustically-excellent concert hall for the college’s ensembles, including choral, instrumental, jazz, percussion, non-Western music and acapella.

Additionally, the hall needed to accommodate dance performances, which require changes to lighting, stage configuration and acoustic treatment. Multiple easy-to-operate flexible acoustic and theatrical elements were incorporated into the design of the Performance Hall to allow it to quickly flex between these various types of performances.

Some of the features of the performance hall include: automated variable acoustic draperies concealed behind perforated wood screens; hinged upstage panels reveal absorptive and reflective surfaces; rotating side walls open to acoustic absorption in back of house; rotating side walls transform the stage configuration to accommodate dance performance; integrated, custom acoustic towers roll forward for an intimate acoustic backdrop; rotating ceiling panels above platform increase the acoustic volume; and integrated color-changing LED lighting within the acoustically transparent screens, which allow the room to transform in response to the performance.

Sound-isolated construction also allows the Kracum Performance Hall to be used simultaneously with adjacent rehearsal spaces, including two large ensemble rehearsal rooms, multiple faculty teaching studios and a chamber ensemble rehearsal room.

Additional back of house support includes dedicated storage, a recording studio that is wired to multiple spaces in the facility, a convenient and adjacent loading area and a green room suite.

Sustainable design strategies included advanced lighting strategies as well as an optimized chiller plant that allowed the project to achieve an Energy Use Intensity of 34 percent savings compared to the project’s baseline goal.

“The completed Weitz Center of Creativity follows the trend of a multidisciplinary approach to art facilities, but pushes that concept into reality by not only co-locating individual departments together within a single facility, but by incorporating unique spaces supported by technology for students and faculty to truly work across disciplines,” said Roxanne Nelson, AIA, LEED AP, HGA. “The Kracum Performance Hall is a prime example where collaboration is encouraged through its range of technical capabilities. The White Space, a highly flexible gallery, encourages students to curate and innovate across disciplines. Common spaces also foster and support the concept of flexibility around both social gatherings and informal performances.”

Design-wise, the facility also meshes with the surrounding context, occupying a tight site within a height-restricted residential neighborhood. Large windows reduce the visible mass of the structure and the red brick complements the materials used in the existing historic building, according to HGA.

Construction began in May 2016 and was completed in August 2017.

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