Susquehanna University - James W. Garrett Sports Complex
Thursday, July 2, 2009 at 4:53PM 
Selinsgrove, PA
CLIENT: Spillman Farmer Shoemaker Pell Whildin, PC
OWNER: Susquehanna University
A popular hub for student activity, the facilities provide award-winning design, modern equipment and enhanced opportunities for collegiate and lifelong fitness.
The entire project involved the design and construction of a new 65,790 SF Field House and connecting link; the new 12,845 SF Clyde H. Jacobs Fitness Center, and the design and construction renovation of an existing 19,946 SF building which houses the Orlando W. Houts Gymnasium, a swimming pool, a racquetball suite and tennis courts. Offices and meeting spaces, locker rooms and Clyde's Café are also part of the complex.
The James W. Garrett Sports Complex has become a focal point of the 210-acre campus that features Georgian-style buildings and hundreds of trees.
The highlight of this project is the Field House. Designed to create a spacious, outdoor feel, the Field House accommodates four multi-sport courts, an indoor six-lane 200-meter track, concession stands, and an observation deck. The 200-foot by 300-foot interior space is made possible by custom designed steel trusses. To visually connect the indoor facilities with the outside track and field, the north elevation features a floor-to-ceiling glass curtainwall.
Challenges: The structural challenge was to design and engineer trusses that would clear a span of 170 feet to create the unbroken interior space required. Given their visual prominence in the field house, the trusses also needed to complement the clean lines of the interior and glass curtainwall, where no cross-bracing would be allowed. The trusses permit the wide, open spaces and aesthetic effect that creates the "wow" factor described in The NCAA News and enthusiastically enjoyed by the Susquehanna University community.
The complex features distinctive elements, including the curved glass front of the fitness center and floor-to-ceiling glass wall on the north and east faces of the field house often featured in Susquehanna publications. The overall structure complements existing architecture on a campus often recognized for its beauty.
The facilities are named in honor of James W. Garrett, Susquehanna's head football coach from 1960 to 1965. He also served as head football coach at Columbia University and as an assistant coach and scout during a more than 30-year career in the NFL.
Project Value: $12.9 Million