This new 200,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility is dedicated to improving
student wellbeing with a diverse range of inclusive programming on Montgomery
Bell Academy’s historic campus. The new H. Frank Burkholder Wellness Center
gives definitive shape to the school’s enduring vision and mission to developing
a “Gentleman, Scholar, Athlete” by investing in mind, body, and spirit to support
holistic wellbeing.
Designed to support both mental and physical health and to be a resource that
reached beyond MBA, the Wellness Center includes spaces to gather, host, meet,
study, perform, meditate, learn, play, practice, and compete. The project sought
to carry forward the campus’ architectural and formal language while strategically
cloaking the mass and scale of the interior spaces. The interiors of the project
speak not of traditional athletics programs but challenge the notion by interjecting a
more cerebral discussion about holistic wellness.
The Wellness Center features a new 1,200-seat Event Center, three-court
Fieldhouse, double-height Indoor Practice field, Golf Center, Squash Center, a
dedicated wrestling gym, fitness center, locker rooms, training facilities, and offices
for coaches and administrators, as well as yoga, meditation, screening, meeting,
and instructional classrooms.
Helping to minimize on-going operational costs for the large facility, the Wellness
Center uses efficient building systems to save an estimated 20% of annual energy
costs. High-efficiency and low-flow plumbing fixtures reduce the potable water
consumption by an estimated 35% annually. The Wellness Center is pursuing LEED
Gold certification.