Wright State University, Student Union/Recreation Center Renovation

The Student Union/Recreation Center at Wright State University (WSU) has emerged as a collection of buildings constructed and interconnected over the last 40 years. The existing building was constrained by a lack of connectivity, confusing circulation patterns and interior spaces that lacked vitality.

The goals of the interior renovation were to:

•Create visual connections between functions.

•Clarify organization and circulation patterns.

•Showcase students and student involvement.

•Create dynamic, energized spaces.

Extensive amounts of load-bearing masonry walls were removed to create vistas between functions—always allowing a unifying view back to the central atrium. A mosaic of multiple-patterned glass types is used throughout the design to reinforce visual connections between spaces and also provide varying degrees of privacy.

With a sense of transparency that the old building lacked, the “new” Student Union/Recreation Center has a more intuitive circulation pattern. The design re-energized the two-story core atrium by placing transparent and translucent spaces around the perimeter.

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