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Exeter Squash: Not Just a Side Dish
January 3, 2005
Phase
one Exeter’s new squash center is ready for
action, just in time for squash season. Early funding
and an accelerated construction schedule allowed
for the completion of a significant portion of
the two-phase project. This phase replaces seven
old and non-conforming courts with 10 new, international
regulation courts in Exeter’s Love Gym facility,
and reconfigures some of the other athletics program
spaces. When it is funded, phase two will add six
additional squash courts and commensurate viewing
areas.
For years, the Exeter squash program suffered
a serious shortage of useable courts that made
training all levels of player a logistical headache
and prevented the school from hosting interscholastic
tournaments. The new squash center, designed by
Architectural Resources Cambridge (ARC), will not
only improve the player experience by better meeting
the existing demand for courts, but also make coaching
and watching the sport more efficient and pleasant
by virtue of its layout.
Exeter’s new courts are made by the highly
regarded German squash court manufacturer, ASB.
The uniform density of their sand-filled walls
makes for even playing surfaces. All have sprung
wood floors and glass back walls for visibility
and light. Sensitive tins light up and beep when
hit, leaving less room for ungracious court behavior.
Four exhibition courts have retractable bleachers
behind them for match viewing. When the bleachers
are collapsed, the space behind the courts expands
to an exercise area large enough for a team to
gather for stretching and off-court training.
Suspended above the center of the court area is
a mezzanine level that overlooks the courts and
provides access to the bleachers from above. This
also connects to the existing third floor viewing
level for the basketball courts and swimming pool,
in essence creating an extensive spectator concourse.
Two 65-foot skylights above the mezzanine let in
natural light; opaque glass guards against any
distracting glare. Exonians inured to the relentless
gray of Love Gym’s cast-in-place concrete
may be shocked to see color on the walls. Mellow
shades of green and buff, architectural detail
and interesting light fixtures make for a handsome
space—useful in the unlikely event that a
spectator needs a distraction from what is happening
on the courts.
This phase of construction, which has essentially
demolished and rebuilt a core area of the Love
Gym, has allowed Exeter to update that facility.
An elevator near the new street-level entrance
to the building provides handicapped access to
every level of the gym. Included in this phase
is a reconfigured and expanded training room, which
has been enhanced to better accommodate the number
of athletes who use it, and seven new visiting
team rooms that will provide Exeter’s guests
a much needed upgrade in facilities. Reconfigured
men’s locker rooms and equipment and laundry
areas make more efficient use of the available
space; original lockers and fixtures have been
reused wherever possible. According to Assistant
Project Manager Jim Landry, the Academy was able
to recycle much of the concrete, steel and wood
debris from the original building through various
area businesses as fill, scrap and energy pellets.
Thanks to the interest and generosity of a group
of alumni, alumnae and parents, Exeter is well
on its way to celebrating a new squash facility
that will serve the school well and attract new
players and spectators to the sport.
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