Nicholas Athletic Center
Cambridge, Mass.
Chan Krieger & Associates

A building evokes the disciplined creativity of dedicated athletes

© Anton Grassl

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This new 80,000 square foot athletic center at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School departed from the red masonry, neo-Georgian aesthetic of the campus for a palette of common and readily available materials including concrete masonry, glazed brick, glass block, metal panels, and prefabricated long-span trusses. The result is a building of contemporary beauty that was economical to build.

The cubic volume of the gym with its glazed east/northeast wall is given a prominent location at the terminus of a prominent parkway overlooking the Charles River. The large shed of the hockey/tennis field house is placed to the rear of the site, facing the playing fields and ‘screened' by a two-story wing containing classrooms, departmental offices, and training facilities. The siting of the two buildings allows for the preservation and maximum use of the existing playing fields.

Between these two dominant volumes is a linear assembly of social spaces affectionately dubbed "the wedge." One of the school's mandates was to produce a plan that would diminish the common school barriers among academic, athletic, and the arts. The wedge becomes a casual meeting ground for students of all types and houses the cafeteria, lounge, display gallery, and serves as the principal pathway connecting the academic cluster to a future arts wing.

The wedge also produces a barn-like stacking of entrances. The lower entrance allows students to access the locker rooms and team rooms, or the hockey/tennis field house. An upper entrance—the front door to the center—enables students, visitors, and spectators to arrive at the gym level, directly at the social center of the facility and overlooking the playing fields. A clock tower (elevator shaft) separates the upper and lower entrances and forms the iconic marker of entry to the overall athletic center.

Formal name of building:
Nicholas Athletic Center

Location:
Cambridge, Mass.

Gross square footage:
80,000 sq ft

Total construction cost:
$ 12.3 million

Owner:
Buckingham Browne & Nichols School

Architect's firm:
Chan Krieger & Associates
8 Story Street, 5th Floor
Cambridge MA 02138
Phone: 617.354.5315
Fax: 617.354.3252
www.chankrieger.com
email@chankrieger.com