Liberty University’s Athletics Center is a multi-use athletic facility designed for the holistic health, rehabilitation, and education of student-athletes in their NCAA Division-1 sports programs. The facility integrates all the main components of a student-athlete’s full development including fitness and training rooms, academic tutoring and study spaces, and administrative services for coaches and staff. Bringing all these services under one roof created a well-grounded environment at the heart of Liberty’s Athletics Corridor.

Built into an existing hill, the three-story building’s terraced form takes cues from the surrounding landscape. Terraces and elevated paths help pedestrians navigate around and through the building and connect the athletic and academic communities on campus. Large expanses of windows and transparency bring daylight into the building and frame views of the spectacular mountain landscape beyond the campus.

Informed by evidence-based design principles about well-being and biophilia, the design brings the outside in and creates many opportunities for indoor-outdoor connections. The Garden Atrium is a central hub that welcomes student athletes with abundant daylight and lush plantings. A main promenade passes through the atrium and connects the various Academic Neighborhoods in the building. Classrooms, study lounges, and tutoring centers are oriented toward western vistas and provide spaces for students to seek academic enrichment and social outlets. The Athletics Center empowers a well-rounded student athlete with spaces to support physical, mental, and social development and well-being.