Erie Hall Recreation and Wellness Center Penn State Behrend Erie, Pa.

Project Description:

The Erie Hall Recreation and Wellness Center houses a broad range of recreational spaces and the university’s counseling center. Guided by a district master plan, designers positioned the building as a visible gateway to the campus core, drawing students into a place of connection and personal wellbeing. The Recreation and Wellness Center provides a dedicated hub of student activity, replacing the outdated Erie Hall gymnasium and significantly augmenting the recreation programming of the existing Athletic Center.

The main stair provides an interior pedestrian promenade, giving students a weather-protected connection from the transit node and primary campus parking zone to the center of campus. This connector gives students daily visual access to the activities happening within the building.

Utilizing the two-story gymnasium space as a central anchor, the program of the building revolves around the central gym, creating distinct activity neighborhoods at every level and cardinal orientation.

Active programs located at the south facade offer views across campus, connecting users to other student life facilities. The dedicated entrances along this facade, which provide access to the recreation center on one end and the counseling center on the other, are married by a pedestrian walkway covered with an outdoor canopy. This dynamic, undulating canopy also protects the facility’s main fitness areas from direct sun, causing a seamless connection to a wooded area adjacent to the building. The design utilizes the site’s steep slope, burying programs that do not require natural daylight within the hillside.