Syracuse, NY -- I've been asking Syracuse University about a current renovation project to the football lockerroom and training facilities for several months now, to no avail.
But today, after returning from a weekend in New York City, it seems that the SU athletics department has something much bigger in mind.
According to the web site entry, the facility would be located between Coyne Field and the
This project for Syracuse University consists of a football practice facility along with a larger strategic masterplan for the Lampe Athletic Campus situated about 3 miles south of the Main Campus. The site in its current state is an array of various athletic fields and parking lots situated between a residential neighborhood to the West and the Manley Field House to the East. Our design seeks to create an identity for this new "middle campus" by making an assemblage of disparate buildings into a strong collection. The spaces between the buildings are differentiated with separate vegetation zones and ground surface treatments that reinforce this sense of place and identity and establish the area as a social space for students and student-athletes. Vince Lombardi said that "Practice does not make perfect. Perfect practice makes perfect". For the football practice facility, we designed the building to create an environment that would enhance the practice session. Composed as a highly regulated and repetitive structure, all systems throughout the facility are deployed in the service of order and conceived to reinforce a sense of regularity and consistency. Column bays and light queen post trusses occur every ten yards, in alignment with the field landmarks. Translucent wall panels provide a well-lit neutral background and daylighting to minimize energy use. The base of the building is formed from precast concrete panels that are cast with patterned dimples of embedded footballs.
