A new $53.67 million Indoor Track & Field Facility at Gately Park has completed construction in Chicago’s Pullman neighborhood.
The 139,375-sf building features a 118,000-sf field house that includes a 200-meter, six-lane running track; high jump and long jump pits; pole vault, hurdle, and relay areas; throw cages; sprint lanes; concession areas; locker rooms; and seating for 3,500 spectators.
The remaining 22,000 sf includes a fitness center, multipurpose rooms for community use, Chicago Park District administrative offices, and After School Matters programming space. The After School Matters area, which was designed by Eckenhoff Saunders Architects, includes a dance and exercise studio, a full culinary teaching kitchen, gathering/performance space, a rooftop deck and garden, and multipurpose labs for art, music, science, and technology. The flexible design allows the space to convert to multiple athletic purposes and can accommodate four basketball and six volleyball courts.
The facility’s main feature is its oval track that can be banked to eliminate the centrifugal force that makes athletes lean one way or the other, allowing them to achieve their top speed. The track’s interior lane rests on a pivot and the support system underneath rests on hydraulic cylinders that are part of the actuator system that makes it possible to bank the track for a race. Depending on the length of the race, the track has as many as six preset banking angles. When not in use, all of the track’s lanes lay flat so the space can be used for additional recreation.
The building also features a column-free design as to not interfere with track and field events, which meant the fieldhouse roof was constructed with six massive, 252-foot-by-20-foot-deep barrel-vaulted, 120-ton roof trusses that span the entire width of the space.
In addition to Williams Architects, the build team also included McHugh Construction and Bowa Construction.
Related Stories
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Feb 8, 2017
Dan Gilbert’s Rock Ventures proposes a land-for-jailhouse construction exchange
He would take over a downtown Detroit site, where he wants to build a soccer stadium, and build a new jail and courthouse about 1.5 miles away.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 26, 2017
How human performance facilities are changing the game
Human performance facilities are emerging as a new way for people to attend to their overall wellness.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Jan 11, 2017
The Oakland Raiders could build this $1.9 billion stadium if they move to Vegas
The proposal was designed by MANICA Architecture and would seat 65,000 fans with room to expand to 72,000 for the Super Bowl.
Sustainability | Dec 14, 2016
A floating, mobile gym powered by human energy envisioned for the Seine River
Energy created by those exercising within would power the gym down the Seine.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 6, 2016
Airborne America takes flight in San Diego
The three-year-old company opens its first indoor skydiving facility featuring two wind tunnels.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Dec 5, 2016
The Edmonton Oilers new stadium and mixed-use venue is exceeding expectations
The HOK-designed facility was created with more than just NHL games in mind, and has been nominated by Pollstar as the industry’s Best New Major Concert Venue.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 29, 2016
HKS-designed L.A. Stadium breaks ground
The stadium will be home to the L.A. Rams and will also host other world-class sporting events and college championships.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Nov 14, 2016
Soccer stadium from Zaha Hadid Architects will be constructed almost entirely of wood
The architects say the project will be the greenest soccer stadium in the world once completed.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Oct 13, 2016
Ice in the desert: The practice facility for the NHL expansion team in Las Vegas hopes to engage the local community
“This design is all about drawing the community into the excitement of NHL hockey,” says Arnie Martinez, AIA, Director of Architecture for Leo A Daly.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Oct 12, 2016
A wood-clad arena is rising in Copenhagen
The design of this 377,000-sf building makes concessions to the residential community that surrounds it.