Johnson Memorial Health Athletic Annex

JPR was approached by Franklin College to assist them in developing an indoor practice facility and weight room for their field sports programs. The college was challenged with a small and constrained site, requiring vacation of an existing alley and the relocating of alley utilities. In addition, the site was in an area with a very high-water table. A limited project budget added to the list of challenges, as the college hoped to incorporate as much functionality into the space that the budget would allow. JPR helped Franklin College develop a program that would make the best use of its limited building footprint.

The largest portion of the project consisted of a high bay interior turf field practice area. A netting shell was designed within the turf area to contain sports activities, with additional netting dividers in place giving the ability to compartmentalize the practice area into hitting and pitching tunnels for baseball. The practice area also included a secure entry, storage space, and auxiliary restrooms. On the main façade of the building, a brick and glass structure protrudes out toward the street to display activity in the Olympic style weight room. With the site and space constraints given for the project, the design team was able to maximize opportunities to provide Franklin College with much needed facility upgrades for their student athletes.

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