Architectural metal pumps up the style at new university rec center
As the saying goes, everything is bigger in Texas, so when it came time for Texas A&M University to build a new recreation center at its College Station campus, planners delivered on the state’s reputation. The 63,000-sq.-ft. facility is designed to meet activity needs for the school’s 66,800 students, with a plan that incorporates strength training, team sports and everything in between.
Its exterior is equally impressive, making a bold statement with a simple materials palette. Prominent on this list: architectural metal panels in a single color but in multiple profiles to create a sense of movement and texture, while allowing for plenty of filtered daylight to reach the interior.
The Southside Rec Center is the third such structure on the university’s massive campus and brings easier access to fitness options for South Campus students who previously had to walk up to 20 minutes to reach one of the other two facilities. And, once there, students faced crowded conditions – school administrators say more than 80% of students use university recreation facilities.
When designing this new signature structure in a dorm-heavy area of campus, architects with the Dallas office of SmithGroup sought to tie the center to its surroundings with native limestone cladding as a primary finish. Nods to tradition end there, however, as architectural metal panels and glass curtainwall dominate across most of the façades.
Plans incorporate four different metal box-rib profiles that are intermixed and installed vertically to create a rippling effect as students pass by. Perforated versions of these panels create a shading scrim above the facility’s glass entry, allowing natural light through while blocking glare. Flush-seam-style panels are installed as soffit on the underside of the roof as it protrudes outward to create a covered walkway along the entry elevation, with windows giving passersby a view into the activity within. The architects, along with installers from the Dallas office of Auzmet Architectural specified Petersen as the metal panel supplier. This includes four different solid PAC-CLAD Box Rib styles for wall cladding from the company’s Precision Series lineup, along with two Box Rib patterns that were perforated for the entry screening. Additionally, installers used 4,000 sq. ft. of flat sheet from Petersen to fabricate the stylish soffit. All panels were ordered in the company’s Bronze finish in another nod to more traditional buildings sited nearby. The project took top honors in the Single Skin Panels category of the Metal Construction Association’s Design Awards.
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