The 1,575 students at Pocono Mountain West High School can participate in 16 scholastic sports throughout the fall, winter, and spring seasons. Many spend summers training and sharpening their skills with limited athletic facilities or resources available throughout the district. Alloy5 was tasked with designing a new wellness center on West’s campus to accommodate a wide range of support for student-athletes and community members.

A site was chosen on the West campus anchored between the high school, turf field, quad track, and baseball fields. The new wellness center on West’s campus will bring a 9,000 SF multi-purpose space to house a full-sized basketball court with lines for volleyball and other indoor court sports. The new building will include 900 SF of concessions space, girls’ and boys’ bathrooms and a 900 SF trainer’s suite as well as custodial and mechanical spaces. Strong graphics will help tie the building to the district’s overall mission of student and community wellness.

The plan functionally splits the building with smaller programming needs that service the turf field on one end and larger multi-purpose athletic programs on the other. In an effort to keep costs minimal, the team proposed to use a premanufactured metal-clad building system. The shed roof protects students and teachers by deflecting snow and other precipitation away from the main entrance and circulation. The porch is a place to gather and enjoy the concessions or meet with trainers and make use of the site’s view of the surrounding mountains and provides athletes additional gathering space designed to foster school spirit. Changing materials on the exterior, combined with school branding, makes this building a beacon for athletics programs at West.