University of Texas of the Permian Basin D. Kirk Edwards Family Human Performance Center
Embedded in the culture of West Texas, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin is responding to the unique needs of its community by building a shared facility that supports its growing athletic department and innovative Kinesiology Department.
Client
University of Texas of the Permian Basin
Location
Odessa, Texas
Markets/Services
Architecture, Athletics, Recreation, & Wellness, Higher Education, Interiors, Landscape Architecture, MEP Engineering, Programming
Size
43,750 SF
Football and athletics are a way of life in West Texas, well-chronicled in the book and television show Friday Night Lights. To remain competitive in attracting students, faculty, and support from alumni and the community, the University of Texas of the Permian Basin (UTPB) knew it needed to improve its athletic resources and facilities for kinesiology teaching and research. UTPB’s new D. Kirk Edwards Family Human Performance Center achieves that, a combined academic, research and athletic training space to support the growing interest in health-related training and research.
Through our team’s design, the building’s long linear form is evocative of the landscape, creating a prominent centerpiece among athletic fields. It features sophisticated weight-training spaces, laboratories and classrooms for the study of athletic training, exercise physiology, pre-physical therapy, and sports and exercise psychology.
SmithGroup’s work also includes the design of spaces for laboratories of exercise physiology, biomechanics, athletic training and sports psychology, creating research space that prepares students for careers in the human performance industry.
The building’s strategic location on the UTPB Circle, further raises awareness and interest across the campus and broader community. Through a design that elevates athletics and engages the greater West Texas region, this facility successfully grows the brand of the University of Texas of the Permian Basin—attracting a new generation of talent to play, teach, research and study.