Spence Athletic Center

The building is a six-story, 97 Ft tall facility that will feature a two-story gymnasium, squash courts, exercise and training rooms, laundry facilities, and locker rooms from the ground through the sixth floor. It also includes an exhibition court with seating up to 60 spectators; a multipurpose room for performing arts; an ecology center with a teaching lab; a greenhouse, and outdoor rooftop space.
The designer’s focus was to provide the complex with a regular-size gymnasium and tournament-ready squash courts and translate it into a building that fits into the larger Spence campus and provides a welcome addition to the neighborhood.

The players

Richard Rogers, who designed the building, worked with Foster and Piano, and built some of the most iconic buildings around the world (the Pompidou Centre in Paris, Lloyd’s and Millenium Dome in London, the 3 World Trade Center in NYC).
He’s the recipient for the Pritzker Prize, the Stirling Prize, and he’s a pioneer of high-tech in architecture.
With a global network of offices in the US and around the world, Front – the facade consultant for this project – is a design consulting group appreciated for its customized approach to the design and project process.

The facade

The patterned glazing provides privacy inside the building while peeking at the outside bustle of student’s life.
A light, airy frontage tempers the massing of the building, easing its fit in a street that’s mostly residential.
For the facade AZA INT has been selected for the design, engineering, and fabrication 8,780 Sq Ft of full customized system with triangular metal fins.