Coles Sports Center is the only full blown athletic facility that belongs to the prestigious New York University. There are also fitness rooms in the NYU Residence halls of Palladium and Gramercy Green on a much smaller scale. But as the culture of NYU tends to be, Coles has transformed into a social spot to be seen more than a gym. Unfortunately, some of the design aspects of Coles have not kept up to its modern use and it seems more and more outdated. The building itself is dingy beige color, and doesn’t hint at all at the splendor that lies inside. From full sized Olympic swimming pool to basketball courts and fitness room, the inside of Coles has got it. The one blemish on the Coles athletic facility is the rooftop track and tennis courts are extremely boring and dull feeling. In attempt to build up some of the school spirit that NYU is lacking. The rooftop facility has a bright purple track that is paired with bright purple tennis courts. Also the hours are only during daytime because of the lack of lighting up there. This spot is one of the few spaces in NYU that has open air. The buildings around Coles’ rooftop are just short enough to let in tons of air and sunlight.
I decided to redesign the Coles’ rooftop to be a space that all NYU students could enjoy, that would still be functional yet fun. New York University is known for its artsy vibe, so why not fully embrace that personality… even in the athletic facility. The new NYU Cole’s rooftop will be a private art park for NYU students. The redesign to the roof will include some structural changes. But I believe each step should be planned out by NYU students and be supervised by real architects/contractors/whoever is most applicable. I think that we should elevate the roof about 5 feet and create room for a cistern below the new roof area. The way Coles is set up with the lower buildings around it must attract a lot of rainwater. Collecting this water and filtering it for the pool and fountains could be a great project to teach NYU students about conserving and reusing water. Also, it would teach them on how to create good water filtration systems. Obviously the grey water from the rest of the building could also be filtered through the cistern and the black water removed via normal piping. The track of the roof will have permeable pavement so the water can seep down into the cistern easily.
The basic structure of the park’s fountains and benches is designed to be a simplified version of Washington Square Park. This is in order to create a unified theme to the natural aspects of the NYU campus. The biggest downside to this project is that the tennis courts will need to be relocated.
The next step of the project should be to install solar panels along the south side of the building. The south side of Cole’s is the most visible, so I suggest making the panels look like a mosaic to maintain the beauty of the streetscape. The solar panels can be the main source of energy for the athletic facilities massive needs, obviously we will still need to use some energy from the energy plant because of the high volume needed to run the facility.
To make the rest of the building cohere with the eco-friendly vibe that the new roof is going for, I suggest adding some vines on the remaining three sides. This will not be expensive, yet will help transform what Coles is. Though it will take years for the vines to grow into what we want them to be, I think this will be a cost effective way to cosmetically enhance the exterior of the building.
Atop the roof there will be a black track, seven plots laid out for NYU students to place sculptures or installations, and a lot of greenery. In order to get your works placed in one of the spaces the student must be an NYU student. Other than that, we can create a student run organization that chooses what pieces get placed there for the semester. Essentially the space will be for the students and made by the students.
This space will be a public space for all students, faculty and administrators to enjoy art, nature and run. The track will allow students to continue running outside while appreciating the artwork of their student community. This fusion of art and athletics will combine the two main elements of New York University’s community. This will create an atmosphere that can be appreciated by every type of student.
