“In the ultra-competitive world of big-time college football, metal is the ultimate interior design statement-and Integrated Design Solutions has asserted it boldly and beautifully. What’s more, the choice and application of metal has created an eminently functional space that’s built to impress.”
That’s what Design Awards judge Bruce Lynch said about the Michigan State University Skandalaris Football Center designed by Integrated Design Solutions LLC, Troy, Mich. The 28,000-square-foot
(2,601-m2) athletic building on MSU’s East Lansing campus is a bold architectural statement, both inside and out, and a representation of strength for a football program trying to reinvent itself.
Completed in September 2008, the $17 million project features meeting rooms for coaches and players and serves as a Hall of Fame for the Spartans’ storied history. The Skandalaris Football Center also stands out from the rest of the campus.
“We’ve enjoyed a long-standing relationship designing buildings for MSU,” said David S. Battle, AIA, LEED AP, with Integrated Design Solutions. “There is an established and respected campus design vocabulary, but for this project, the athletics department and the university wanted to step out and be a little bit bolder than they normally would be.”
Based on a strategic positioning statement launched by University President Lou Anna K. Simon in 2005, Battle said the theme adopted for the project was “Boldness by Design.”
A Statement of Strength
According to Battle, the main exhibit area highlights exposed structural steel and bolts from Douglas Steel, Lansing, Mich., to capture the strength and masculinity of the football program. Contrasting with the raw structure, 6,000 square feet (557 m2) of smooth metal wall panels from Sobotec Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, were introduced to showcase the facility’s elegance, sharpness and professional atmosphere for the coaches, players, staff and public.
“The university not only had to create an interior environment that would be stimulating for a highschool athlete but also create a very comfortable atmosphere for his parents, and the use of metal allowed us to do both,” Battle said. “We commissioned an exhibit design firm and told them we were using a lot of metal, and they developed a vocabulary of metal for all the exhibits [which include archived trophies and information about MSU players who have gone to the NFL].”
Other metal interior features include stair treads, a football-shaped elevator shaft, checker plate exhibit panels and cutouts for the Spartan logo and helmet.
The building’s exterior took on a striking look, as well, drawing inspiration from the imagery of Spartan warriors and their armor, with the front of the building coming to a very sharp point.
Design Award judge Ron McKenzie commented: “The use of metal complemented the other natural finishes and served to underscore the goal of armored Spartan athletes. The attention to detail in the structural connections and, in particular, the use of metal to reflect the Spartan logo was a creative design solution.”
“In a metaphorical sense, metal is used as a strong and fluid material, as a running back uses brute strength straight up the middle or athletically carves fluid lines around his opponents,” Battle continued.
The Meeting Room
One of the main requirements for the new football center was that it have a meeting room large enough for the entire team to meet with its coaches. This room ended up being one of the highlights of the building in part because of the 2,400-squarefoot (223-m2) curved metal ceiling from Gordon Interior Specialties, Bossier City, La.
State-of-the-art technology is a priority for MSU, so this room features theatre-quality video playback and a strong sound system. Battle said a variety of products were considered for the ceiling, as well as the concept of leaving it exposed, but ultimately curved metal with a perforated wire mesh finish was chosen.
“Those undulating waves of metal flow from the back to the front,” Battle said, “and it forms a veil against the exposed ceiling. If you’re directly below it, you can see straight through it, and if you’re walking into the room, the undulating waves direct your attention to the coach’s presentation in front. Metal can be used as something that flows, not just something that’s straight-you can bend it. Again, the metaphor of fluidity and speed.”
A New Focal Point
The previous football building was a non-descript, one-story masonry building covered by trees. This, unfortunately for MSU fans, was symbolic of the way the football program was going.
As the football program strengthens and begins to turn around, this new structure communicates with the busy and integrated fabric of campus life and the energy that emanates.
“It was fully intentional to have glass and metal be somewhat transparent to allow people to see into the facility and see the exhibits from the outside as they walk by,” Battle said. “So even in the evening hours when the lights are on, you can see into the exhibit areas and displays.
“On football Saturdays, as fans walk from their tailgating locations toward the stadium, they walk right through the plaza. It’s a place to make connections and attend pep rallies. We feel that the sharp metal point at the front of the building will become an athletic icon where people will pose and take pictures after game victories.”
Design Awards judge Tony Cosentino complimented the “strategic use of metals as they are well balanced by brick, natural stone and other common building materials.”
Battle agreed that the contrast to the masonry on the building is what makes it successful.
“Metal’s ability to exude raw strength, be polished to a sparkling finish, and curved to show fluidity is the perfect material to highlight MSU’s football program,” he said. “The transparency through the front glass and the ability to see the structural steel all the way through is-to me-what makes it different and a unique feature on campus.”
Michigan State University Skandalaris Football Center, East Lansing
Building owner: Michigan State University
Architect: Integrated Design Solutions LLC, Troy, Mich.
Exhibit designer: ZE Designs, Cincinnati
Construction manager: Barton Malow Co., Southfield, Mich.
Structural steel fabricator: Douglas Steel, Lansing, Mich.
Aluminum curtainwall: Kawneer, Norcross, Ga.
Metal wall panels: Sobotec Ltd., Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Metal ceiling panels: Gordon Interior Specialties, Bossier City, La.
