NIRSA facility feature: The Outdoor Adventure & Welcome Center at Weber State

At their best, campus recreation facilities can be centers for student development and intentional learning; drivers for student recruitment and retention; and even hubs for community connections. The Outdoor Adventure & Welcome Center at Weber State University achieves all three in spades and that’s why NIRSA decorated this new facility in Ogden, Utah with a 2022 Outstanding Facilities Award.

Weber State University serves nearly 30,000 students and the 500-acre main campus sits along the east bench of the Wasatch Mountains, just below the renowned Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Ogden is an outdoor oasis with adventure beckoning to enthusiasts of all sorts; skiing, hiking, mountain biking, fishing, mountaineering, golfing, and paddle sports of all sorts are all within easy reach of Weber State students. Weber State’s investment in this new facility is fitting for an institution of higher learning where outdoor culture is so important to student life.

About the Outdoor Adventure & Welcome Center

Weber State’s Outdoor Adventure & Welcome Center (OAWC) is a 17,000 square foot facility that serves as a campus and community hub for outdoor recreation. In addition, it’s a welcome center for potential and new Weber State students. The facility is intended to knit together the best of higher education and the history of outdoor culture, which is such a significant part of student life on the WSU campus.

The entire outdoor program hinges around a 55’ tall technical training center with classroom views of the activity center, creating a unique learning environment for current and future Wildcat outdoor enthusiasts. But the impetus for the new facility was much more than a state-of-the-art climbing wall; supported by the new facility, WSU’s Outdoor Program will advance three key goals.

Recruitment and retention

Participation in campus recreation as well as the availability of recreation programs and facilities are factors that influence student matriculation and graduation. Research shows that students who think campus rec programs are important are more likely to report an intention to return to school. The OAWC serves as a recruitment tool, targeting and attracting students interested in outdoor recreation and activities. The building hosts outdoor experiences that furnish an incredible welcome and orientation to new students, especially those incoming first-year students who are new to the Ogden area.

Another goal of the OAWC is to strengthen student retention by fostering a sense of belonging among students through shared experiences and close connections with peers and program leader mentors.

Student development

Educators in higher learning settings know that campus recreation participation leads to the development of lifelong, physically active habits and improved health outcomes for participants. The OAWC supports students in their love for the outdoors and the pursuit of endeavors that can form the foundation for a lifetime of activity and fitness.

With training and leadership opportunities for the WSU Outdoor & Community Recreation Education academic program, the OAWC provides an in-house solution for increasing practical application among students. WSU’s Outdoor & Community Recreation Education academic program trains students as assistant guides, awarding certificates that enable them to be employed directly out of school.

Local reporter Emily Anderson notes, “Students looking to go into a field that requires an individual to work at dangerous heights, like first responders and construction workers, will use the facility for training. According to Weber State spokesperson Allison Hess, the center will also offer training for individuals who want to become certified to build 5G towers.”

Campus recreation at Weber State is an integral component of the student experience that develops and reinforces the personal characteristics which lead to academic success.

Community connections

The Campus Recreation Outdoor Program has brought long-standing positive impacts to Weber State University and the local Ogden community. The OAWC is the next step forward in reinforcing partnerships with local outdoor industry businesses as the private sectors and the university collaborate on events and opportunities that will strengthen both.

The technical training center offers an ideal learning venue for firefighters, SWAT teams, police, search and rescue, construction workers, professional arborists, first-responders, and ski mountain operations professionals. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2018, employment in the recreation industry was 1.5 times higher in Utah than the national average. The Outdoor & Community Recreation Education program at WSU leans into those opportunities by offering an emphasis in outdoor recreation entrepreneurship. Students in the program gain hands-on training from industry experts, and through access to internship opportunities and certifications, students graduate ready to enter outdoor adventure industries as the next generation of professionals. The OAWC is the perfect venue to support students looking to turn their passion into their profession.

Some of the key features of Weber State’s Outdoor Adventure & Welcome Center include:

• Expanded outdoor equipment rental center and new rental equipment fleets
• Drive-through equipment storage
• Adventure program trip staging area
• Trip planning and resource area
• New rope access technical training center
• 15′ bouldering walls with nearly 900 sq ft bouldering wall surface
• 55′ climbing wall
• Indoor simulated bailout window wall
• Confined space rescue area
• Rooftop rappelling and rigging area
• Three-story catwalk system for scenario rigging
• Technical training classroom
• New WSU welcome center for new and incoming students
• Outside boat cage for canoe, stand-up paddleboards, and kayak storage
• Ski tuning area equipped with belt and stone grinder, edger, and waxer, with an overhead exhaust hood; ability to transform to a bike tuning area during summer

The facility uses environmental graphics throughout to enhance a user’s experience, with topographic maps of local outdoor features, historical outdoor adventure artifacts, and design elements based on the cultural heritage of outdoor recreation on campus. Truly, the OAWC at Weber State is deserving of the Outstanding Facility accolade from NIRSA.

“Winning a NIRSA Outstanding Facilities Award is a testament to Weber State’s commitment to recruitment, retention and the student experience,” says Teri Bladen, Director of Campus Recreation at Weber State University. “This facility highlights high impact educational experiences with smart classrooms and the technical training center, more trips for students led by students, and a stronger focus on adaptive recreation in both outdoor rental equipment and programming. We have a fantastic collaboration with the Admissions Office, and when students come for a campus tour, they are immediately exposed to outdoor recreation opportunities and can even sign up for a rappelling activity to get them excited about what northern Utah has to offer,” she adds.

Inclusive and sustainable design

Sustainability and inclusive design were essential to the project. The existing site grades are too steep for ADA-compliant sidewalks, so the building was carefully designed with two primary entrances across the steep grade changes on site; the design allows patrons with accessibility challenges to enter the building from either level. Adaptive rappelling stations with elevator access were designed to increase access to the first-level catwalk system. Additionally, an adaptive mountain bike and an adaptive trail chair are part of the building’s equipment.

The OAWC’s building design and construction was required to meet WSU’s thorough sustainability and energy-saving requirements. West-facing window and building openings were minimized where possible, with many openings oriented to take advantage of northern-facing natural light where possible; WSU-branded screening elements are used for windows facing east/west/southern exposures. All facility lighting inside and outside is LED, with an efficiency target of 0.5 watts per square foot. Water conservation measures were also integrated throughout the facility; low-flow showers and lavatories, automatic shut-off valves for domestic water, and bottle refilling stations all help to reduce the amount of wastewater.

About the lead architect

Weber State University’s Outdoor Adventure and Welcome Center knits together the best of higher education and the history of outdoor culture that is such a significant part of student life at the campus thanks in part to NIRSA Associate Member ajc architects. The lobby features a trip-planning area with a custom 3D topological surface; the trip planning table is based on the topology of the immediate Wasatch Mountain Range and features a three-dimensional map that staff can use to help guide students and customers through trip planning needs.

Heber Slabbert, Principal Project Architect and partner at ajc architects says: “As a former Weber State student who took classes in the outdoor adventure program, this is where my love and respect for the outdoors began. The opportunity to help create a new home—where that legacy of inclusion and outdoor education would continue to evolve—has been an incredibly rewarding experience. The design process was a reminder of what made me fall in love with this outdoor community and culture.”

Heber goes on to say, “This project owes much of its success to the vision and passion of the university leadership and program directors. It was our privilege to help them realize this vision and take advantage of what this incredible location had to offer. The concept centered on bringing a new family of programs under one roof as a representation of what makes Weber State University and its location so special. From our initial interview to the final walkthroughs, there was consistent emphasis on creating spaces that would help foster this culture and community and build on that legacy.”

The orientation of the OAWC affords visitors and students unobstructed, floor-to-ceiling views of the Wasatch Mountain range just off campus. The “smart” classroom offers students an ability to livestream instruction and features demonstration bars that are built into the ceiling for anchor, knot, and other climbing instruction techniques. It also accommodates a wide range of technical configurations. The 55’ climbing tower had to be partially buried, 20’ below grade, which proved challenging as unstable soils and perennial water flows were found after initial site excavation. The facility is built on ground located in a high seismic risk area, so it was necessary to include large seismic brace frames that were strategically integrated into the catwalks and climbing walls.

The site was configured to allow vehicles to pull into a large drive-through bay where boats, bikes, and other gear can be lowered from ceiling storage and loaded onto vehicles. The back-of-house rental returns help to eliminate pickup/return congestion, and the area includes a wash-down zone for life jackets, rental equipment, and a dedicated sanitary sewer dump station. Additionally, the building features displays of several historic artifact collections, ranging from original Jeff Lowe backpacks to a collection of ice climbing picks going back nearly 100 years.

“Winning the NIRSA Outstanding Facilities Award for the OAWC is a tremendous honor for the entire design team,” says Heber. “The values embraced by NIRSA closely parallel the values and goals this project set out to achieve. It is the pursuit of creating environments that embody these values that make being part of this community of designers and outdoors enthusiasts so exciting. We are proud to be a part of this pursuit.”

About NIRSA’s Outstanding Facilities Awards

The annual NIRSA Outstanding Facilities Awards recognize the innovative designs of new, renovated, or expanded collegiate recreational facilities of NIRSA member institutions. Winning facilities are considered a standard by which other campus recreation facilities should be measured, and from which others can benefit.

Applications for the 2023 class of NIRSA Outstanding Facilities Award recipients are open through November 16. Eligibility guidelines, selection criteria, and entry fee details can be found on the NIRSA website.