Completed in October 2009, the 71,000-square-foot Beimdiek Recreation Center is a retrofit of an existing structure and an addition. The project won Recreation Management Magazine’s 2010 Innovative Architecture and Design Award, setting the standard for subsequent construction on campus, while fitting in with the existing campus environment.
Acting as a gateway for students to socialize with others and take care of all their health and activity needs, the facility now contains a new Student Health Center, a three-court gymnasium, elevated jogging track, two 4,000-square-foot fitness areas, two fitness class studios, a fitness testing center, locker rooms and showers, and a 150-seat theater.
For the project, CENTRIA supplied 6,392 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 2-inch vertical metal panels in Surrey Beige with a smooth Fluorofinish coating; 5,355 square feet (497 m2) of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 2-inch vertical metal panels in Surrey Beige with a Duracast finish and coating; and 2,604 square feet of 22/26-gauge Formawall Dimension Series 2-inch horizontal, flat and curved metal panels in Crushed Ice with a smooth Fluorofinish coating.
Project challenges included integrating the new structure with the existing Billingsly Student Center; making the existing student center’s entrance, a well-defined and dominant icon on campus, even more inviting; and creating both vertical and horizontal reveals of 2 inches, which were required to carry over and line up with inside reveals where the wall extended through to the interior.
CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series products were selected for their versatility and flexibility in terms of meeting the aesthetic challenges, as well as its performance and sustainability benefits. The panels were custom designed to include the reveals required by the architect’s exacting design. The panels, with a Crushed Ice color, was also able to be curved to cap off a several-story, quarter-cylinder glass drum that allows the students enjoying the facilities amenities inside to take in the view of the campus’ main drag outside the center. The Duracast finish on the wall that extends from the exterior through to the interior of the building provides the look of masonry with the performance of metal. Additionally, CENTRIA’s Formawall Dimension Series panels are Cradle to Cradle Silver certified.
Architect: RDG Planning and Design,
Des Moines
Dealer: Mays Maune McWard Inc., Fenton, Mo.
Installer: Shawhan Sheet Metal, Independence, Mo.
Contractor: R. E. Smith Construction, Joplin, Mo.
Metal: CENTRIA, Moon Township, Pa., www.centria.com
