Student Life gets a Boost at Centennial Colleges Athletic and Wellness Centre

By: Mark Toljagic

Fitness-minded students at Centennial College’s Progress Campus are giving their newest campus asset a big high five for its state-of-the-art facilities and cool presence. Known as the Athletic and Wellness Centre (AWC), it brings together a massive gymnasium, an 80-metre indoor track, two-storey climbing wall, squash courts, cardio-fitness area and aerobic studios under one roof.

The professional-grade gym – which can be divided into three large play areas – is designed to host varsity games and tournaments drawing teams from across Ontario. The cardio-fitness area features the latest workout machines found in the most exclusive fitness clubs in North America, including 44 cardio machines, 40 strength-training machines, as well as free weights positioned on a special shock-absorbing floor. The SASS Spa brings high-quality spa services to campus at student-friendly prices.

The AWC began as a Centennial College Student Association Inc. (CCSAI) initiative in February 2007, when students voted in a referendum to levy a fee to raise start-up funds for its construction. The CCSAI collects the fee from every student each semester to help pay for the construction and operation of the AWC, which opened in September 2011.

Designed by Toronto-based Kongats Architects, the AWC is built to LEED Gold certification with numerous eco-friendly features. It reuses much of the structure of the old DEL gymnasium, reducing the carbon footprint, waste and cost; there’s less reliance on electric lighting thanks to the abundance of windows; and rainwater and grey water are collected and used to flush the toilets and help keep the building cool.

Kongats Architects earned both a Governor General's Medal for Architecture and an Ontario Association Of Architects Architectural Excellence Award in 2002 for its design of the nearby Progress Campus Student Centre. With the addition of the $23-million AWC, it marks the first time a student association has commissioned two distinct buildings on a Canadian college campus.

Learn about Centennial College at www.centennialcollege.ca.