The new recreation and wellness facilities at the University of Wisconsin-Madison not only offer students ways to get and stay physically fit but a wealth of resources for maintaining and enhancing their overall well-being.
Cost of Projects
$236 million
Areas
If at first, you don’t succeed, ask your students what they want. That’s not exactly how the famous proverb goes, but it worked extremely well for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Recreation & Wellbeing.
In 2010, students resoundingly voted down a referendum to expand the Natatorium, the university’s former recreation center. They felt the expansion plans weren’t robust enough and wanted something more holistic.
Following that, the student government gave the recreation department, known as Rec Well, $100,000 to conduct an in-depth study to evaluate all the university’s recreation facilities. From the study evolved a “Master Plan” that laid out plans for six recreation projects.
In March 2014, another student referendum was held to approve $223 million in funding for four of the six projects in the Master Plan. The referendum passed with a record-breaking 87% of students voting for it — the highest turnout of all time on the campus.
The four projects were two large indoor facilities and two outdoor facilities:
As of September 2023, three of the four projects have been completed.
With its wide array of offerings, equipment, and spaces, Rec Well has something for everyone.
The Nicholas Recreation Center’s five levels contain:
The facility, designed by Workshop Architects and HOK, opened in September 2020. It is named for the Nicholas family, whose lead gift helped fund its construction.
The Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, which has four floors, boasts:
Designed by Kahler Slater and HOK, the center opened in April 2023. It is named for lead donors Jim and Sue Bakke (BAH-kee).
The Near West Fields is the first Rec Well outdoor facility with synthetic turf. The area’s features include:
Among Rec Well’s goals for the new centers was to address students’ recreational and physical fitness needs as well as their mental health and nutritional needs. Other Rec Well areas include a mind/body studio, nap pods, a yoga studio and more.
“One of our mottos is that we’re building more than just buildings,” said Sadat Khan, senior associate director of facility planning and operations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “We’re building a movement. One that is more holistic. Mental health and nutrition are huge concerns on campus. Students experience eating disorders, sleep disorders, and more. So we wanted to include spaces to enable students to focus on a wide range of the issues they may experience while in school.”
Some programs combine multiple aspects of fitness and well-being. For example, a yoga class may include information on setting boundaries or practicing gratitude. A tennis lesson may include tips on nutrition or healthy sleeping habits.
When the university embarked on its 10-year endeavor to build larger, more inclusive, and holistic spaces to better meet students’ recreational, fitness, and wellbeing needs, its plan included having Mondo surfaces throughout the new facilities.
“Mondo is the industry leader,” Khan said. “It's likely to be at the top of our bid specs every time we talk about new projects and design. It’s going to be Mondo for just about everything.”
The Nick and Bakke feature Mondo’s durable Sport Impact flooring in many areas, including the fitness, cardio and strength-training spaces. Both buildings also have jogging tracks with Mondo’s Super X Performance track surface in a custom color that was created for the university. In addition, Bakke has Mondo’s Sport Impact around the ice rink, in the rink’s locker rooms, and even in the elevators!
“I wouldn’t trust anything but Mondo,” Khan said. “The Mondo track is great on your knees and joints. In spaces where there’s going to be a lot of activity and there’s going to be a lot of wear, it’s always going to be Mondo, because Mondo is durable, resilient, easy to clean and easy to maintain — and because we trust the people we work with.”
At the Near West Fields is the Mondo FTS Turf System with Ecofill,* one of the most playable surfaces for multiple activities. The world’s first FIFA 2-star rated turf system, the Mondoturf system allows athletes to move in acceleration, rotation, extension, and torsion with a performance similar to when they’re on natural grass. And, as Khan pointed out, its exceptional drainage offers many advantages.
“Mondo’s synthetic turf allows us to have longer seasons, cancel fewer games, add more teams, and crown more champions because of its superior ability to drain water and not create mud when it rains,” Khan said.
Participation at Near West Fields increased by 40% the first year after Mondo’s synthetic turf field replaced the natural grass field.
*For more information about Mondo’s turf products, please contact Mondo’s authorized turf dealer Kiefer USA at kieferusa.com.
Embarking on a project like this is a significant undertaking. Khan has the following tips for universities and campus rec facilities that are designing or upgrading their recreation centers:
Finally, Khan says to use flooring that will allow you to adapt spaces as needed.
“Trends change,” he said. “That's one reason we have an open-format design everywhere in the buildings and that’s why we use Mondo. Mondo products let us modify and repurpose our spaces as trends change because the flooring is resilient and can adapt with changing needs.”