Beloit College Powerhouse

The health of people and our communities is inextricably linked to the health of the planet—the water we drink, the air we breathe, the land in which we grow our food. As the development of cities increasingly encroaches on natural habitats to meet the needs of a growing populace, building sustainably is key to making certain that future generations will continue to thrive in our ever-connected world. To truly build sustainably relies upon taking advantage of resources already within reach. Existing buildings, spaces, and materials can be reimagined and revived rather than building anew. Starting with the principle of adaptive reuse, this project asks: Can a defunct power plant, which once tarnished a river’s edge and polluted the air and land, be reanimated as a center of community and wellness? Transforming the power plant into a student union and recreation facility, the Beloit College Powerhouse will replace an old model of energy with a new model to ensure the health and well-being of its many inhabitants. Rather than producing electrical energy and pollution, the Powerhouse will become a center for human energy, activity, vibrancy, and health—energizing its surrounding community in an entirely new way. Nestled between the Rock River and the College’s campus, the Powerhouse will serve as a recreational resource and a community forum, all the while fostering a public connection to the riverfront—embracing it rather than polluting it—that foregrounds the connection between human and environmental health. The project will maintain the original historic façade of the power plant, while much of the defunct equipment will be removed—with the exception of decommissioned coal bunkers, water intake pipes, and coal pulverizers, which provide a spatial reference to the building’s previous incarnation and highlight its remarkable reuse. On the interior, what was once mostly catwalks, stairs, and small platforms with few continuous floors becomes four energizing, activity-filled, and interconnected levels featuring a 10,000-sf fitness center with a 3-lane track and 8-lane pool. This space also provides amenities for conversation, collaboration, and study—supporting the full life of students and underscoring the importance of physical, emotional, and intellectual health. Taking its cues from the rhythm and cadence of the original structure, a new saw-toothed structure made of polycarbonate—a durable material that provides advanced thermal insulation, resulting in energy savings—houses the 17,000-sf field house, where sports teams and nonathlete students alike can form healthy bonds through sport and play. Yet, reimagining this hundred-year-old structure presents significant challenges, especially when considering how to efficiently heat and cool a building designed for machines but repurposed for people. Heating and cooling the spaces of the Powerhouse, for example, requires addressing heat flow through the building’s skin—inward in the summer and outward in the winter—as well as the extraction of heat generated by people, lights, and equipment. Buildings usually use air for heating and cooling; however, water, which is much denser, is actually more efficient. Radiant panels integrated into the building’s surfaces are able to cycle cool water from the adjacent Rock River for most of the Powerhouse’s heating and cooling needs, improving comfort within the building and maintaining the highest quality of air, while also significantly minimizing total energy use. This, in turn, supports the health of the architecture itself, while simultaneously highlighting the importance of the river and driving stewardship of this crucial natural resource. With its adaptive reuse, sustainable features, and focus on health and well-being, the Powerhouse serves as a model for the future, showing how building mindfully can support healthy relationships between people and with the environment.