Location
Ann Arbor, MI
Original Construction
1928
Construction Cost
$10,000,000
Size
106,000 sqft
Completion Date
2000

The University of Michigan’s Intramural Sports Building was designed by SmithGroup’s forerunner—Smith, Hinchman & Grylls of Detroit. It was the first collegiate intramural sports building in America and served as a prototype for recreational buildings at other institutions for decades after its final construction.

In 1999, SmithGroup prepared an infrastructure study intended to provide a comprehensive report of the building’s conditions, make recommendations intended to address the building’s maintenance needs for the next 20 to 30 years, and to adjust for the updated demands of student recreational needs.

Elements of the study included identifying requirements to bring the building and its systems to current user, code, and environmental standards, while recognizing its historic character. Exterior envelope rehabilitation recommendations were made, including steel windows and metal roof replacement and masonry deterioration. Interior recommendations were aimed at improvements in life safety, maintaining architecturally sensitive lobby spaces, and providing general upgrades of interiors to contemporary standards. The HopkinsBurns team performed the historic preservation analysis of the building’s exterior and interior character defining features.