SEATTLE – Sarah Hubbard remembers well the times when she and her teammates on the University of Washington women’s crew team had to push tables and chairs out of the way in the cramped Hiram Conibear Shellhouse dining room so they could throw down their padded mats to do their pre-workout stretching.
The men’s crew had to go to Hec Edmundson Pavilion to do its warm-ups.
No more.
An $18 million renovation of the shellhouse expanded the old building by 75 percent and turned a passe shack that had all the ambience of a boiler room into an ultra-modern, 47,250-square-foot facility that rivals any of its kind in the world.
“It’s amazing,” said Hubbard, a sophomore from Adelaide, Australia. “We could see the outside as they built it from the ground up, but you could never see the inside. It’s just amazing in every way.”
Miller-Hull Architects and Sullen Contractors of Seattle took advantage of some of the finest waterfront on Lake Washington and created a five-car-pileup gorgeous facility that was former athletic director Barbara Hedges’ vision for not only a first-class boathouse, but also a state-of-the-art area for counseling, tutoring and study.
Natural light shines inside from almost every angle. Most areas have a stunning view of Lake Washington to the east. For the most part, it is ventilated by open windows and doors. It is a cheery, bright building that sits on breathtakingly beautiful lakefront property.
“I want to live here; I don’t just want to train here,” said former Husky rower Matt Deakin, UW freshman intern coach who also is training for the 2008 Olympic Games. “I think it’s an absolutely incredible facility.”
The designers were careful to honor the UW’s hallowed rowing tradition. Walk into the building and the visitor is greeted by plaques honoring former coaches Hiram Conibear, Dick Erickson and Al Ulbrickson.
“There is a spirit in this building,” men’s rowing coach Bob Ernst said. “The guys and gals who worked on this project, this was a crusade for them. I cannot ever imagine it turning out better than it really did. It was the most spirited and fun project that I’ve ever seen and that I could ever imagine.”
The areas strictly used by the UW crew were expanded 78 percent. It includes a grand, four-section training and team room; new men’s and women’s locker rooms expanded to 80 lockers apiece; five rowing shell storage bays, expanded by one; modern coaches’ offices overlooking Lake Washington; and new roll-up doors at shell bays and training rooms, allowing open and connected views to the lake during training.
“I have never seen it, a building like this,” said Premsyl Panuska, team manager of the Czech Republic men’s and women’s crews that will compete Saturday at the Windermere Cup races at the Montlake Cut. Panuska was coach of the 1991 women’s eight that won the Windermere Cup in its first visit to Seattle.
The student-athlete academic-services area has a tiered floor auditorium with teaching space for 44 students; an expanded, modern computer lab; new offices for staff and counselors; and group and individual study spaces with computer capabilities. The entire academic-services area is more than double the size of the one in the old building.
It has a student-athlete lounge with direct views of the lake, direct access to a waterfront deck, a large-screen television and comfortable lounge furniture.
Walk inside the expanded dining hall and you’re greeted by the very shell that the Huskies eight rowed to victory in the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin. The hall can accommodate up to 250 student-athletes at one time and included 18-foot floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the water. Outside is a 2,500 square-foot deck available for dining.
“It’ll be a place for student-athletes to relax, get away from their coaches and enjoy their day,” said Chip Lydum, assistant athletic director for facilities and events.
Certainly, the building will serve as an effective recruiting tool for coaches in every sport. Football coach Ty Willingham can bring in recruits and show them a dazzling place they can study, eat lunch and hang out. The kids will wig out.
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