Designing Athletic Training Facilities: A Team Approach
Date Posted: April 22, 2021
Posted In: Ideas,
by Erica Muhlenbruch, Burns & McDonnell
The world of athletics is becoming an increasingly competitive marketplace. Sports programs are enlisting innovative design approaches to find the competitive edge needed to recruit and retain athletes and enhance their performance. Design teams are rising to meet this challenge with solutions that promote the physical, social and mental aspects of athletes’ development — helping to protect the major investments of time and money put into each player.
Incorporating a holistic design approach for higher athletic performance means designing training facilities not only for the player, but for the coaching staff, trainers and nutritionists that impact an athlete on a regular basis. Tuning a facility’s design to match the needs of any of these individuals is a requirement for strategic and thoughtful design. An integrated design team experienced in healthcare, technology, engineering and construction can respond and adapt quickly to help accomplish client’s goals from initial contemplation to beyond move-in day.
Home Away From Home
For many athletes, more time is spent in a training facility than nearly anywhere else. Designing spaces that accommodate every aspect of player performance not only supports the athlete but provides a place that is comfortable to spend long hours working, socializing and recovering.
Sports facility design needs to promote physical training and performance, as well as recovery and rehabilitation on-site to shorten the gap between medical rehabilitation and an athlete’s return to full performance potential. Nutrition is also a key aspect in optimal training facility design with many teams placing the dietician at the center of the team’s activities. Additionally, providing intentional room for coaching and education, travel coordination and family support services is integral when designing a space built for efficiency and function.