Workouts Help Keep the Lights On…
…at the new CSUN Rec Center.
You name it, it’s happening here – from rock climbing, floor hockey and boxing, to rumba, volleyball, yoga, swimming and too many more activities to list here. A behemoth of a building, this $70 million, 138,000sf complex is equipped with indoor gyms, a weight room, workout studios, an indoor track and two outdoor pools.
Opened in 2012, the Cal State Northridge Rec Center has an exterior metal skeleton which offers a bold contrast with its striking glass panels, creating a folded profile. Its LEED Gold-level certification is well deserved, considering cardio workouts help keep the lights on – with all that running, cycling and stair-climbing partially powering the university’s electrical grid.
Irvine, California-based green planning and design firm LPA handled design, with Kaitlin LeSage Crawford from STUDIOK1 in nearby Santa Ana at the helm on lighting. Because the building incorporates numerous sustainable features including natural daylight, photometric calculations were used to determine which Prudential Lighting products to place where. Crawford ultimately chose the low-profile Snap, one of Prudential’s best sellers.
Accolades for the unique design keep rolling in, including recognition from the AIA. Of course, the students are thrilled with the facility as well. CSU Northridge University Student Union Executive Director, Debra Hammond notes, ‘They [the design team] took the time to educate the students about what we’re building and what we’re trying to create here.’ Who knows, maybe a few of them will end up spending their workout pondering a career in architecture.
