University of Colorado Boulder Recreation Center

As Saunders' fourth project for University of Colorado Boulder, this project includes the complete renovation of the entire 235,242-square-foot facility, including significant upgrades of the building systems to address deferred maintenance needs.

Three separate additions provide space for expanded strength and conditioning areas, a new ice arena, a three-story rock climbing gym, indoor tennis courts, and a new indoor turf multi-activity gym. The additions required an excavation of approximately 18 feet deep (33,000 cubic yards of dirt) and nearly five months of campus utility relocations. In addition, the facility required replacing some of the foundation walls to support the new additions.

The aquatics area, including competition swim lanes, received a complete renovation, including a new corrosion-resistant roof, new deck tile, and updated and code-compliant pool equipment. To meet the Innovation Points, the team devised a system to divert the excess heat from the ice arena to heat the swimming pool, ensuring that this offset energy is not lost.

This project received multiple industry awards, including:

• 2014 ACE Award for Meeting the Challenge of a Difficult Project from Associated General Contractors (AGC) of Colorado
• 2014 Merit Award Green Project from Engineering News-Record (ENR) Mountain States
• LEED Platinum Certification, 2014