Spillman Farmer Architects’ proposal for the Dickinson College Kline Sports Facility takes advantage of the existing features, while striving to introduce more transparency and connectivity as well as making the building’s sustainability evident. The new three-level addition transforms the Kline Center into a dynamic campus gateway, a marquee building with bold daytime and nighttime presence. The addition is placed along the eastern side of the existing building, reaching east to Cherry Street and south to High Street and integrated with the existing topography. More images and architects’ description after the break.
The existing Dickinson College Kline Center is a bold but uninspiring utilitarian structure, built economically and well used over the years. A later addition to the building is similarly utilitarian and equally uninspiring. Like many gymnasiums and sports facilities of its vintage, Kline’s exterior is more imposing than inviting, and its interior has limited natural daylight and poor acoustics. The facility also lacks gathering and social space, a missed opportunity for drawing students in and creating a dynamic campus hot spot. Along with these challenges come a number of compelling features of the building, including the space-defining central corridor and the way that this corridor, and the structure itself, align with Biddle Field. The building’s approach to stormwater management (similar to that employed in Louis Kahn’s fundamental Trenton Bath House) is also intriguing and calls for further consideration.
