UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse, Duquesne University, Pittsburgh
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECT: DRS Architects Inc.
GLAZING FABRICATOR: Trulite Glass & Aluminum Solutions
GLAZING CONTRACTOR: Gurtner & Sons Glazing, (412) 921-8074
MATERIALS
As part of a dynamic renovation of this historic athletic facility, developers selected Solarban 67 Starphire glass to create a curved façade that brings new life—and more light—to the newly named UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse.
DRS Architects designed a bright, inviting street-facing façade that provides optimal daylighting for the inside of the facility and also aligns aesthetically with Duquesne University’s recent campus upgrades along Pittsburgh’s Forbes Avenue.
With a solar heat gain coefficient of 0.30 in a standard 1-inch IGU, Solarban 67 Starphire glass offers solar-control performance that improves the overall energy efficiency of the building. Its visible light transmittance of 57 percent indicates the glass delivers abundant daylight to the building’s interior, especially along the northern façade leading to the Clearway Community Energy Gate.
GLASS MANUFACTURER: Vitro Architectural Glass
THE RETROFIT
Formerly known as the A.J. Palumbo Center, the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse is home to the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams at Duquesne University. In addition to the primary arena, the building houses the Folino Sports Performance Center, which features nearly 10,000 square feet of athletic training equipment, performance labs and a nutritional center for the university’s student-athletes, as well as the Joe and Kathy Guyaux Player Development Center, which contains two regulation-sized basketball courts.
The renaming of Duquesne University’s primary athletic facility honors Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer and Duquesne alumnus Chuck Cooper, a Pittsburgh native and one of the first African American athletes to be drafted by the National Basketball Association in 1950. The renovation of the UPMC Cooper Fieldhouse began in March 2019 and was completed over the course of 22 months, culminating in an opening event on Feb. 2, 2021.
PHOTOS: Jim Cunningham Photography