Fast Forward: 12 Field Houses Designed to Maximize Performance

Field houses transcend locales. As places to train and rest from outdoor activities and conditioning, these unique structures are radically diverse. Found throughout history, field houses take on a wide range of formal and programmatic organizations, from simple shed storage structures to large complexes with integrated practice fields. While field houses are incredibly diverse, they do share common elements like their peripheral adjacency to open spaces and incorporation of changing areas or equipment storage. These designs use context as borrowed landscapes, creating dynamic spaces that embody energy, focus and movement.

The following collection explores field house design across North America and Europe. Located in seven countries, the projects represent different approaches to integrating urban and campus environments. Interior spaces were made to complement exterior spaces and establish a continuity that binds activities together. Designed to support a variety of sports, from cricket and running to cycling and soccer, the field houses are arranged with dynamic forms and views that reflect the character of the athletic programs they serve.

Goldring Centre for High Performance Sport by MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects), Toronto, Canada

Located next to Varsity Stadium on the downtown University of Toronto St. George campus, the Goldring Centre forms a new hub for research, therapy and sports for the campus community. Centering around two core programmatic elements — the field house and the strength and conditioning center — the project was made with a heroic steel frame vaulting over a cavernous excavation below.

Sharon Fieldhouseby design/buildLAB, Allegheny County, Va., United States

Resting atop a hillside that overlooks a terraced baseball field, the Sharon Fieldhouse was designed to mark the land as a linear incision. Fissured into three elements, the project was designed to allow circulation paths to weave around the occupied spaces.

Sportpark Willem-Alexanderby MoederscheimMoonen Architects, Schiedam, Netherlands

Designed to make a motorway section more functional and attractive for local residents, this field house features over 8,500 square meters [91,500 square feet] of colorful fencing made from 1.6 million lifelike “pixels.” Formed on top of the tunnel and motorway, the project creates new connection between two residential areas.

Stade de Soccer de Montréal by Saucier + Perrotte architectesand HCMA Architecture + Design, Montreal, Canada

Marked by a historically inundated site, the St-Michel Environnemental Complexe has been transformed from a mining center and a dumping area to one of Montreal’s biggest parks. Focusing on environmental and ecological restoration, the site features a new soccer facility that emerges from the park’s topography.

Regent Park Aquatic Centre by MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects), Toronto, Canada

Made as part of a 69-acre redevelopment project, the Regent Park Aquatic Center was designed as a key civic amenity and social heart of the new complex. Conceived as a ‘Pavilion in the Park,’ the project includes an open base and visual transparency that connects to a soccer area and outdoor field in the park.

Usabal Sports Center by Hoz Fontan Arquitectos, Tolosa, Spain

Formed where a freeway, housing and mountain converge, the Usabal Center includes sports courts, a swimming pool and outdoor sport fields. Programmatically, humid and dry areas are separated, with changing rooms being the connective elements that binds them.

Bakala Academy by Bogdan & Van Broeck Architects, Tervuursevest, Leuven, Belgium

Designed to represent excellence and performance for athletes of all disciplines, the Bakala Academy serves diverse fields, from the AG2 soccer field and sports center and the Minivoetbalterrein track to Eneco Stadium. Conceptually, the project was based on the “wheel” to embody concepts of dynamism, movement and “clockwork-precision.”

Ocean Breeze Track and Field House by Sage and Coombe Architects, Staten Island, N.Y., United States

Located in PlaNYC’s new 110-acre Ocean Breeze Park, this Track and Field House was designed upon one of the few remaining areas of native upland coastal grasslands on Staten Island. Made to serve an indoor and outdoor field, the project includes a 200-meter [650-foot] hydraulically banked track, a fitness center, café and service spaces atop 140 naturally ventilated parking spaces.

Commonwealth Community Recreation Centre by MJMA (MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects), Edmonton, Canada

Created with three masses, this recreation center includes a gymnasium, aquatics area and field house that frame a central lobby space. The project defines exterior forecourt spaces, while the building itself responds to the scale of the nearby stadium by interconnecting the fabric of the surrounding neighborhood.

Méru Athletics by Olivier Werner Architecte, Paris, France

Located on the side of the Méru stadium athletic tracks, this small field house bends toward the nearby tracks. Programmatically, the project includes a space to host the stopwatch for sport competitions, an infirmary, changing rooms and storage space, all wrapped in a simple white steel envelope.

Merrion Cricket Club by TAKA architects, Dublin, Ireland

Facing the River Dodder, the Merrion Cricket Club replaces a pavilion from the 1980s that was severely damaged by flooding. The symmetrical pyramidal volume was cut to fit the irregular geometry of the site, while a viewing terrace and bar windows are oriented to views of the cricket pitch.

Campbell Sports Centerby Steven Holl Architects, New York, N.Y., United States

Located on the northernmost edge of Manhattan, the Campbell Sports Center forms a new gateway to the Baker Athletics Complex. Designed to provide increased program space for the entire intercollegiate athletics program, the facility connects playing fields to the streetscape on the corner on Broadway and 218th Street. Terraces and external stairs serve as “lines in space” that draw the field of play onto and into the building.