New athletic hall designed to complement Allen Fieldhouse

By By Eric Jorgensen

Wednesday, February 15, 2006

When architect Bob Krohn and his team sat down to design the Booth Family Hall of Athletics, they had a daunting task ahead. They had to create a state-of-the-art facility and attach it to a building more than 50 years old.

One month after its opening, fans are still flocking to Krohn’s complement to Allen Fieldhouse.

“The best part is we haven’t heard anything bad,” said Krohn, an architect at HOK Sport + Venure + Event in Kansas City, Mo. “People seem to really like to go through there.”

When they designed the Hall, they tried to make it blend with the fieldhouse. To maintain the fieldhouse’s traditional atmosphere, the team used Manhattan White Limestone from the same quarry the original rocks were taken from, Krohn said. The doors at the entrance of the Hall are the same blue doors that were at the old entrance of the fieldhouse.

The intent was for the new addition not to stand out from the original structure. A natural feel was something the Athletics Department made clear it wanted from HOK’s design, said Jim Marchiony, Associate Athletics Director.

“We said that we had every intention of constructing the Hall of Athletics so that it would blend with the exterior of the fieldhouse,” Marchiony said.

Krohn and company took those guidelines and created a similar looking structure.

“We didn’t want the building to be completely different,” Krohn said. “I think here, the idea was respectful of the building.”

HOK kept the height of the building as low as possible. This allows the metallic words “Allen Fieldhouse” to be visible on the building from Naismith Drive. It also allows the original windows below the words to be visible, which still creates natural light in the arena while preserving its original look.

Although a natural feel was important during the planning stages, uniqueness was also important. Krohn said the building still needed to convey the history of Kansas athletics on the inside.

Gina Leo, an HOK spokeswoman, said her firm knew the importance of preserving the feel of an original building.

“If you can imagine being an alumni, a lot of your college experience is based on game day,” Leo said.

— Edited by Lindsey St. Clair

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