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Sports / Recreation

Student Recreation Center wins national award, achieves LEED Gold status

February 27, 2012

The National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association has recognized CSU's Student Recreation Center with the 2012 Outstanding Sports Facilities Award.

Facilities that are selected for the honor are evaluated based on the construction project’s correlation to the campus master plan and mission; the relationship between facility design and staffing; innovative use of construction materials or methods; sustainable features; and technological benefits for the members, staff or budget.

“This award is a great honor for the recreation center and facilities staff who have worked hard to ensure this building is functional, and it’s a great tribute to our students who paid for it,” said Blanche Hughes, vice president for Student Affairs. “We are very proud of this award.”

The university hired Hastings & Chivetta to design the project, which incorporated several additions on the east, southwest, and north sides of the existing Student Recreation Center. The building opened in September 2010 with a total of more than 73,843 square feet of new construction. Additionally, the interior of the existing center was renovated, retaining its original bold interior colors but including more windows for natural light.

LEED Gold status achieved

The building recently achieved LEED Gold status. Among the environmentally friendly features:

• Carpet within the building has a high content of recycled fibers. The padding and backing of the carpet is made of 100 percent recycled materials.
• Certified Wood from forests was used throughout the building. This wood was harvested under stringent and ecologically responsible guidelines.
• All materials, including adhesives, sealants, paints, coatings, carpeting, and agrifiber products, are low emitting. Low-emitting materials are products which do not release harmful toxins or pollutants into the environment.
• A “green clean” housekeeping program in the center is used, ensuring the use of only certified green cleaning products while also monitoring the amounts of chemical applied.

“We take pride in the fact that the cost of energy within the new building is less than before the renovation despite an addition of 70,000 square feet,” said Judy Muenchow, executive director of Campus Recreation at Colorado State, who oversaw the renovation/expansion project from design to completion.

Muenchow will accept the award at the NIRSA Annual National Conference and Recreational Exposition March 27-30 in Tampa, Fla.

Key building components:

• Refurbished three-lane, 1/8 mile indoor track
• Cardio weight area measuring 24,000 gross square feet on two levels
• Gym with curved walls for indoor field sports, two basketball courts, four volleyball courts and four badminton courts
• Climbing area with two 38-foot towers, bouldering wall and cave, and an outdoor bouldering rock
• Two state-of-the-art massage rooms
• Lobby with seating and a smoothie bar
• Indoor pool renovation includes a four-lane lap area, 35-person spa, lazy river current channel, 12-foot climbing wall, shallow activity area for basketball/volleyball, on-deck sauna and steam room.
• Outdoor pursuits
• Intramural offices
• Meeting rooms

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Contact: Emily Wilmsen
E-mail: Emily.Wilmsen@colostate.edu
Phone: (970) 491-2336