Springside fieldhouse on the rise
As the new school year quickly approaches, Springside School’s new field house is taking shape. Looking toward Cherokee Street, right, the main gym section is to the left, a porch structure added to the original design is in the center and the windows of the fitness center are seen on the upper floor to the right.
Below, the main entrance will be marked by an atrium structure, left.
(Photos by Tom Utescher)
by TOM UTESCHER
The athletic fieldhouse that has long been on the drawing board at Springside School is rapidly taking shape, and when students return to class next month, they’ll see that a great deal of progress has been made over the summer.
Almost all of the exterior walls are up and much of the roof has been installed on the new 52,000-square-foot facility, which lies directly behind the existing school buildings and will be connected to them by an enclosed second-story pedestrian bridge. By mid-September, the building should be closed up for the start of finishing work on the interior, and it will be ready for use by early February of 2006.
Occupying the largest portion of the building will be a capacious sports hall accommodating three full-sized basketball courts, with divider curtains that can be used to configure the space in many ways. Roll-out bleachers add to the versatility of the arena.
Most of the remainder of the ground floor will be occupied by four international-style squash courts with a spectators’ gallery, and a rock-climbing wall. Elsewhere on the first level, the school can boast an unusual installation: a 2600-square-foot crew tank. One of the few indoor rowing tanks in the area, it will accommodate up to eight oarswomen at a time and will be girded by an attractive teak deck.
The main entrance, at the southeast corner of the building, offers an airy atrium that will house Springside’s Sports Hall of Fame, and directly above will be offices for the faculty and staff. The second floor will also feature classrooms, an aerobics and dance studio, and a fitness center. The exercise facility is being outfitted by Leisure Fitness, and will contain 13 pieces of cardiovascular workout equipment and 16 Nautilus machines, along with free weights.
Springside business manager Frank Aloise pointed out that both Leisure Fitness and the firm that is outfitting the crew tank, the Durham Boat Company, are owned by women, whose involvement seems particularly appropriate at an all-girls school.
When the new fieldhouse was in the planning stages, Springside’s immediate neighbors expressed concerns about the appearance of the building’s exterior, and the school has worked out many of these issues with nearby property owners.
“Even during the actual construction process, we’ve been making concessions to the neighbors,” noted Jennifer McHugh, Springside’s Director of Development.
Originally, the school had positioned the main entrance at the rear of the building (facing the private homes at Drum Moir), but input from the community caused the lay-out to be rotated 180 degrees. This change presented a large blank wall to the neighbors, but a covered porch was added to the design to provide a visual break to the façade. The porch will also be ideal for viewing games on the lacrosse field that lies between the building and Drum Moir.
Suggestions from adjacent homeowners also caused the school to alter the color of a portion of the roof from a light blue to more of a terra cotta tone.
After years of planning, fund-raising and negotiating, school administrators are eagerly anticipating the official opening of the building in a few months’ time.
“We are so thrilled to have this new space which honors our student athletes,” remarked Priscilla Sands, Springside Head of School. “Helping our girls develop strength of character, strength of intellect, and strength of body is the hallmark of a Springside education.”
