All content VCBO Architecture 2018 ©
Eccles Health, Wellness and Athletic Center
Westminster College
Salt Lake City, Utah
Westminster College made the most of their new building by juxtaposing health science education, student recreation and athletics spaces under one roof, maximizing scarce real estate in the center of the landlocked urban campus. The imaginatively conceived design used the different heights of the gymnasium, pool and locker rooms to provide space for the School of Nursing for two-thirds of the cost of a stand-alone building.
Ample daylight is secured, and transparent inner walls allow light to penetrate into the Center's innermost spaces, further enhancing the atmosphere of wellness. The building presents an aesthetic solution to its setting, through functional adaptations of historically derived architectural elements such as similar scale windows and roof angles that contribute to the integration of the building into its historic campus context.
The School of Nursing includes exam rooms, a large 12-station learning lab, and classrooms for the Health Occupations. The nursing school has a clear sense of being in the middle of the activity, because the climbing wall penetrates their floor, letting nursing students watch climbers from their lounge area.