Hamilton High School, Athletic Center

Hamilton, Ohio

Firm

SHP

Client

Hamilton City School District

Area

54,384 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$9,500,000

Completion Date

10/2010

The new athletic center creates a new face for Hamilton High School athletics. The core element is an arena-style gymnasium that is open to surrounding corridors. The gym is not an enclosed space within the building; it is the building. Getting rid of the gymnasium walls provides a completely daylighted space. It also connects fans to the 94-foot collegiate-sized basketball court while providing ease of entry and exit from their seats. Tucking the storage and the fitness room under the fixed seating gains floor plan efficiencies. The open, 1/10-mile, mezzanine 9+3 track completes the amenities.

Harkening back to original fieldhouse designs, the barrel-vault shape picks up on the rooflines that already define the public spaces at the existing high school while creating and easily identifiable entrance. A windowed connector provides a link from the existing building to the new addition and grants access to the former gymnasium that now serves as the school’s cafeteria.

The position of the addition by the athletic fields on the site and parallel to the stadium creates a triangle of venues for varsity events. A new walkway boulevard connects the athletic center with the stadium and provides gathering space.