Dalhousie University, Dalplex Fitness Centre
Halifax, Nova Scotia
In Collaboration with FBM
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Fitness Studio, High Performance Space, Multi-Use Studios, Lounge, Meeting Rooms
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Structural / Mechanical / Electrical / Civil: CBCL
Landscape: Outside! -
2019 Athletic Business: Facilities of Merit Design Award
2014 Canadian Architect: Award of Excellence
As part of its 2010 Campus Master Plan, Dalhousie sought to upgrade and expand its recreation and athletic amenities, aiming to promote wellness, and accommodate related academic programming. The Dalplex Fitness Centre is a key component of this agenda — an expansion providing floor-to-floor level connections to the existing Dalplex Field House.
An inviting pavilion that has become a vibrant focus of campus life, the two-level Fitness Centre presents a bold new public face for all Dalplex athletic programming. The university wanted a significant presence on South Street: here, an expansive entrance plaza draws users alongside and into the building, where a generous interior stairway and accessible lift lead down to the lobby, which is also the new primary control point for all campus athletic facilities. Throughout the new building’s program and circulation spaces, continuous glazing and skylights provide ample, balanced natural light and enhance wayfinding.
The strikingly simple and luminous form is nestled within a long site with a dramatic grade change running its width. The north-south slope exposes a two-storey façade along the southern elevation and gradually rises to meet the campus’ main arterial road, South Street, where it forms a one-storey northern façade that respects the scale of the surrounding residences.
The South Street plaza is the Fitness Centre’s main arrival zone and provides much-needed space for both events and informal gathering. The building’s primary massing gesture here is a gentle tilt of the west façade that signals the entrance.
From the lobby, a light-filled concourse running the length of the building offers clear access to changerooms and high-performance fitness. At either end, cast-in-place concrete stairs lead to the upper-level primary performance spaces.
The dramatic grade change allows for the expansion of views outwards, on both levels. Long glazed corridors and fitness machines that are oriented outwards accentuate this belvedere quality of the building. The copious natural light that changes throughout the day highlights the varied textures of the interior material palette.
