Princeton Day School sought a new approach to their athletics facilities, which were dispersed throughout their campus and largely outdated, and commissioned a study to evaluate the feasibility of consolidating their indoor athletic facilities and to plan for a new tennis complex.

In the programming efforts it became clear that the school wanted their new athletics center to be a celebration of community: a place in which the entire school and the surrounding community could gather to show school spirit around the excitement of competition. The Center would also function as an all-school assembly space with seating for up to 1,000, hosting guest speakers, awards ceremonies, small performances, and event receptions. VMA proposed a flexible and welcoming new building attached to the existing ice rink that would blend into its context through a design vocabulary that drew from the architectural style of the main campus while acknowledging neighboring historic farm buildings. To offer the school different programmatic options, VMA explored both a 68,000 sf and a 95,000 sf facility. Each were conceived to meet LEED Gold standards.

A new tennis pavilion at the center of ten new courts would be another venue to accommodate both sports and social functions. The siting, parking, landscape and a ropes course were also a significant part of the sustainable initiative and a challenge as we were working with a site that has streams and wetlands.

Landscape completed in association with Andropogon Associates.