Villa Walsh Academy Athletic Center

This 32,000-square-foot athletic center provides recreational space for Villa Walsh Academy, an all-girls Catholic School in Morristown, New Jersey. With the majority of the students participating in sports, a new recreational space was a necessity.

The need for a cost effective, energy efficient, durable, and yet appealing facility led the design team to search out alternatives. The new facility needed to be visually pleasing to complement the existing predominantly brick campus. On of the major challenges in this project was the building was going to be built into the side of a mountain with poor site conditions. Additionally, the athletic center was designed with a full basement. After the basement was cast in place, the tilt-up wall panels were cast on the elevated structural slab and lifted into position.

The facility includes a basement with running track, common areas, courts for basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse, as well as other athletic amenities. The durable concrete walls are designed to withstand the abuse from these sports for generations of students to come as well as provide superior thermal insulation. To accommodate the athletic courts, the facility was designed with a 128-ft.-long and 97-ft.-wide clear span without any interior perimeter columns. In addition to function, the tilt-up solution provided an attractive exterior with textured paint and slate impressions in the wall panels as well as a striking entrance. For these achievements, the Villa Walsh Academy Athletic Center won the 51st Annual New Jersey Concrete and Aggregate Merit Award in the Education category.