Century-old college classroom building becomes a modern fitness center

Butler Rogers Baskett Architects of New York recently saw its design of the 30,760-sf Blood Fitness Center on the campus of Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y., completed. The project involved restoring and renovating the 100-year-old Saunders Hall, which used to house the small college's chemistry department. BRB's plan called for the conversion of a previously enclosed courtyard into a three-story atrium, with a 40-foot-high climbing wall rising from the basement level. The center is the third completed element in BRB's master plan for the college's athletic and recreational programs. Already in use are a sports medicine facility, located in the old fitness center, and a new squash center.