How technology is evolving collegiate recreation buildings
April 15, 2025
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We are proud to have our sport, recreation and wellness director, Colleen McKenna, featured in a new article from Athletic Business magazine focused on how evolving technology influences campus recreation facility design.
As the piece makes clear, "building or renovating a recreation center in 2025 requires a different mindset than it did event a few years ago - in large part because of rapidly evolving technology.
From advances in heating, ventilation and air conditioning to materials used for enhancing aesthetics to the very way in which users interact with and experience a facility, tech changes are continually influencing how recreation centers are designed and constructed."
Testimonials
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The biggest change in the last three to five years is all about making everything as seamless as possible for students to use technology from the moment they walk in a facility - from access to using a piece of equipment to buying a smoothie or signing up for a fitness class.
Colleen McKenna, AIA, LEED Sports, Recreation and Wellness Director
The piece then breaks down key areas where technology is most influencing recreation spaces. It talks about the need to create a "wow " factor through amenities like vending machines for sports and recreation equipment, autonomous field-marking equipment and advances in group exercise.
The piece also dives into building operations, improving user experience and much more. Colleen is featured throughout offering other key points, including:
"Data starts to inform the decision making. If one group exercise class is way more popular, you may need to add more of those classes and drop others that aren't really used as much."
