Football Locker Rooms, University of Texas, Austin
RETROFIT TEAM
- ARCHITECT: Gensler, Austin
- ELECTRICAL ENGINEER: Glumac, Austin
- ELECTRICAL REPRESENTATIVE: Bell & McCoy Cos., Austin
MATERIALS
Every aspect of the 2017 locker room renovation was designed to make UT facilities reflect the university’s commitment to continued excellence throughout the football program. Lighting in the updated facility had to easily accommodate everything from players hanging out between practices to academic study sessions, team meetings, and the supercharged minutes right before players take the field. The lighting controls had to quickly and easily transform the environment, especially on game day, so the Quantum Integrated Lighting Control System was chosen.
Lighting plays a major role throughout the space. In a design unique to the Longhorn program, each locker glows orange. Cove lighting throughout the space is fully adjustable and a lighted corridor along the main entryway creates a must-stop photo-op for virtually everyone who visits the space, including other UT athletes, visiting teams, the media, and the families of players and recruits.
Beyond the lighting scenes themselves, lights can be adjusted in every area, including the showers, to ensure players can tune the lights to their preferences. Engraved keypads take the guesswork out of selecting the right scene: Daily, Recruiting or Game Day. Matt Smidebush, assistant director, Football Operations, explains, “When Coach presses that Game Day button, he wants lights, music and energy to reach epic levels immediately.”
College athletes are limited to a defined number of practice hours, but football is family to these players and in many ways this space is an on-campus home. The facility includes study tables; comfortable couches; gaming systems to encourage socializing with peers; and a quiet place to meet, study film or just relax. The integrated lighting control system ensures the atmosphere reflects the players’ mood and meets their needs.
LIGHTING CONTROLS MANUFACTURER: Lutron Electronics
THE RETROFIT
The Longhorn locker room already is making its mark on the UT football players and recruits. Every aspect of the lockers, every design element, every piece of furniture and every lighting sequence was carefully chosen to set a new standard of excellence. For many players, this place exceeds their wildest expectations, giving them a genuine home-away-from-home.
PHOTOS: (c) Gensler