University at Buffalo, Murchie Family Fieldhouse
The $15 million Murchie Family Fieldhouse is a premier sized indoor practice facility matching the best in the country. With over 4,000,000 cubic feet of indoor space, the fieldhouse holds a full-size turf football field, 6,000 feet of rubber sprinting tracks, a triple jump pit, a pole-vaulting pit, and motorized suspended softball hitting tunnels. The 92,000-square-foot facility also contains two multi-level indoor filming/viewing towers.
This pre-engineered building creates an aesthetic fitting the character of the area and accommodates expanded recreation and intramural programs as well as University and club events—all in a single, convenient location on campus. In combination with the wall gyrations, which add texture to the building siding, a mix of ribbed metal panel, flat metal panel, and masonry at the base of the structure drive the aesthetic. Roof dormers on each side of the building transform the long, flat roof into an architecturally interesting shape. Glazing, which is limited to the entry plaza, and 15,000 square feet of filtered daylight wall panels bring in natural lighting. These panels were added to the building’s gable ends, rectangular features, and louvers.
The centerpiece of the new facility is the football field, a 74,958 square-foot AstroTurf RootZone 3D3 Blend turf system with football field striping, end zones, and safety clearances. This premium product is AstroTurf's most popular stadium turf due to its combination of long-lasting performance and game day good looks. In addition to weathering year-round football practice, the turf field can be divided into four 95-foot-by-180-foot recreational fields.
The Murchie Family Fieldhouse is a game-changer for University of Buffalo athletics. After nearly twenty years of discussion, the indoor training facility gives student-athletes a place to practice through New York winters.
Awards:
- 2019 ACEC NY Engineering Excellence Silver Award, Structural Systems
- 2019 APWA Western New York Structural Project of the Year
Project Services:
- Programming
- Design
- Construction Administration