News

Voith & Mactavish Architects is pleased to announce the LEED Gold Certified Sipprelle Field House has been named Best Sports/Entertainment Project in the Mid-Atlantic Region by ENR.

As the first building visible upon entering campus, the design response was to keep the scale small to respect existing buildings. VMA chose to depress the floor of the field house fifteen feet below grade to maintain sight lines of the historic gymnasium tower, while concurrently taking advantage of the earth’s fifty five degree temperature. This reduced perimeter assists in both heating and cooling the large volume.

In its expanded form, the new 52,000 sf field house at St. Andrew's School in Middletown, DE houses ten squash courts, a 5,000 sf weight and fitness area, a 20,000 sf field house, an exhibition basketball court, wrestling room, and multipurpose studio for yoga, along with locker rooms, laundry, and equipment storage.

A jogging track is at grade and expansive glazing provides student athletes with impressive views of the idyllic campus and allows 100% natural lighting during the day. Key strategies for the LEED Gold certified facility include the use of the local and regional materials, a 42% reduction in wastewater usage from average toilets, sinks, and other fixtures, and the team was able to divert 75% of construction waste.