Athletic Business 2011 Facility of Merit
12/8/2011 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Dec. 8, 2011
The Barbara and David Gibbs Recreation and Wellness Center at Rice has been recognized by Athletic Business magazine as one of its 2011 Facility of Merit award winners. The 31st annual awards were formally presented last Friday at the Athletic Business Conference & Expo in Orlando, Fla., and the winners are featured in the December issue of the magazine.
The Owls' facility which opened its doors in 2009, was one of two Houston-area facilities among the 10 2011 honorees. The Tellepsen Family Downtown YMCA in Houston was honored along with the East Bay Recreation & Wellness Center at Cal State Hayward, the Drexel University Recreation Center ; The Mayor Sheila Doyle Russell Youth and Community Center in Cambridge, Mass.; MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J.; the Smith Aquatic & Fitness Center - Charlottesville, Va.; the Stouffville Clippers Sports Complex - Stouffville, Ont; the Aquatic Centre at Hillcrest Park - Vancouver, B.C. and the University of Iowa Campus Recreation and Wellness Center - Iowa City, Iowa,
The award winners are featured in an online gallery at AthleticBusiness.com.
A total of 73 facilities were considered for the 2011 Facility of Merit Awards, with the winners being selected by a panel of seven sports and recreation facility architects during two days of judging in Chicago.
The Gibbs Recreation Center was cited for successfully Integrating more than 100,000 square feet of recreation space into the fabric of a college . "Beyond utilizing a façade of cast stone masonry detailing and the university's signature red brick, the designers achieved their goal by centering the building layout around an open courtyard with outdoor facilities, including a leisure pool, a 50-meter competition pool and two basketball courts," according to the magazine.