Johns Hopkins University, O’Connor Center for Recreation & Well-Being
Baltimore, Maryland
In Collaboration with GWWO
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Expanded Fitness Conditioning Space, Renovated Gymnasium, Track, Racquet Sports Courts, Multi-Use Studios, Multipurpose Rooms and Classroom, Café, Outdoor Plaza, Outdoor Fitness Terrace
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Structural: Columbia
Mechanical / Electrical: James Posey
Civil: RK&K
Landscape: Mahan Rykiel -
2023 Athletic Business: Facilities of Merit Design Award
2022 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Maryland: Excellence in Design Award
2022 American Institute of Architects (AIA) Baltimore: Design Excellence Award
A renovation and expansion of an existing facility, the revitalized Recreation and Wellness Center elevates the student experience by placing sport, wellness, and community together at the centre of campus life. The new program fosters greater collaboration between the offices of Recreation and those of Health and Wellness. Besides enhanced recreational and fitness amenities, the facility’s offerings now include a mindfulness and meditation curriculum that encourages students to engage with and cultivate a community of care.
The building enriches the campus with architecture that is contextual, alive, and connective. From the exterior, the bustle of social and program spaces visible inside conveys the facility’s energy to the university community. It was nonetheless designed primarily from the interior, so that passive and active spaces interact with one another and the outside. Respecting the surrounding natural context was essential to achieving the facility’s purpose and to making the building timeless.
The addition creates an inviting, inclusive, brand-new face to the existing O'Connor Center. Steps up to the existing facility have been replaced with a gentle gently sloped walkway through an outdoor gathering space. The entrance is defined by a generous overhang, and opens directly into a cafe.
Views to the Bufano Sculpture Garden are prioritized, resulting in a biophilic, ever-changing backdrop to the activities within, and heightening user’s sense of wellbeing.
A skylit central stair with broad landings is a point of orientation for the whole building and provides places to pause and meet. It opens up with views of the cardio, fitness, and program rooms, to activate interest and social connection across program boundaries.
The existing triple gym, one of the largest enclosed spaces on campus, has been transformed by the borrowed light, views and access of from the new addition to become a true multipurpose space, suitable for both athletics and large gatherings.
