The new Student Activities and Athletics Center will be an extension to the Joseph Edward Gallo Recreation and Wellness Center and will expand the recreational space of the campus by almost 70%. Spanning 21,000 square feet, the new facility includes cardio-vascular and workout studios, an outdoor adventures activities area, meeting rooms, training facilities, and office spaces for the recreational and athletics programs.
The building incorporates host of sustainable elements, which makes it 50% more power efficient than any comparable building. The power consumption is 30% lower than the required Title 24 standards.
The sustainable principles incorporated into the facility includes sun shading, which allows the building to reap benefits of natural light with minimal solar gain; and grass pavers for the fire lane that is integrated into the landscaping. Local and drought tolerant or adaptive plants have been used for the landscaping.
In order to match the new facility with existing buildings on the campus, WRNS Studio has used the same standing seam roof, plaster, glazing, metal screens and fins at the new facility, with no compromise on the sustainability. The university is aspiring for LEED Platinum certification from the US Green Building Council for the new leisure venue.
McCarthy is also the construction manager on UC Merced’s Science and Engineering Building 2, a 103,000 square-feet laboratory and research facility, and was recently selected to build the 34,000 square-feet Student Services Center, which will break ground at the end of 2012.
