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Guy V. Lewis Development Facility illuminated at night with red sign left of triple height glass entrance with wood accent
Guy V. Lewis Development Facility

A Facility That Shapes a Championship Team

Client

University of Houston

Project Location

Houston, TX

Opening Date

2016

Area

53,000 SF

Recruit and Prepare: That was the simple, yet rigorous, charge for the University of Houston’s Guy V. Lewis Development Facility. We designed the complex to enhance the university’s recruiting efforts while also elevating the development and performance of student-athletes once on campus. Our designers overcame the constraints of a very tight site between the existing Hofheinz Pavilion, now known as the Fertitta Center, and adjacent streets by creating a unique multi-level layout that covered much of the existing facade of the dated arena and provides a new progressive building image and identity for the Cougars’ basketball programs.

An iconic three-story entry atrium element visually ties the player development, student-athlete, and administration levels together. A dynamic function space in the lobby atrium provides a gathering area to share team meals, welcome visitors and promote the great history of the program. Shared spaces are centrally located, with player development wings extending from the central “knuckle” and main entry.

The 53,000-SF facility consists of identical amenities for both men’s and women’s basketball programs, with each wing featuring a practice court, locker room, team lounge, nutrition center, academic/film room with tiered seating, video editing suite, and coaching office suite with views to the practice court below. The teams share centrally located sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and support service facilities. The latest technologies are available to players and coaches throughout the facility and include docking stations in lockers, video walls, optical scanners for building security, and USB charging ports. Interactive flat screen displays for reviewing game and practice film are placed in multiple locations and on the courts, enabling coaches to provide instruction wherever necessary. The Guy V. Lewis Development Facility was instrumental in the Cougars reaching the 2021 Men’s Final Four.

Game Plan

On the day of the very first design meeting, our firm was given a simple yet rigorous charge: Design to Recruit and Prepare. Deliver spaces that recruit the finest basketball players in the nation to the University of Houston and give them the tools to prepare to become champions. That mantra drove every decision our design team made until the day the facility opened.



01
Baselines

A Simple Directive

The teams share centrally located sports medicine, strength and conditioning, and support service facilities. Player development wings for both men’s and women’s basketball programs extend from the central “knuckle” and main entry.

Triple height hallway with blue elevator shaft, right, recessed under white 2nd floor walkway. Large windows on far wall

The iconic three-story entry atrium element visually ties the player development, student-athlete, and administration levels together.

02
Forwards

Developing Champions

As Coach Kelvin Sampson said when the facility opened, “Teams become better from October to March. For players to get better, it must be from March to October. We will have a place where our players can practice, work out, shoot, develop chemistry and improve their work ethic. They can do this, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year with this facility.”

2 lines of armchairs face opposite walls with multiple screens. Far wall is floor to ceiling windows, basketball court below

Interactive flat screen displays for reviewing game and practice film are placed in multiple locations, including coaching office suites, for instruction wherever necessary.

03
Strong Side

Final Four Bound

Harkening back to the early days of design, as the Cougar basketball program was plotting its course for a return to prominence, our design team promised UH all the tools necessary to help it reach its goal. Just five short years after opening, the Guy V. Lewis Development Facility played a significant role in the Cougars participation in the 2021 Final Four.

Wood practice court with basketball hoops along sides and UH logo at center. Grey and red stripes on walls with banners left

The 53,000-SF facility consists of identical amenities for both men’s and women’s basketball programs, with each wing featuring a practice court, locker room, team lounge, and nutrition center.



Featured Video
Past & Present Legacy Memorialized

An iconic three-story entry atrium element visually ties the player development, student-athlete, and administration levels together. A dynamic function space in the lobby atrium provides a gathering area to share team meals, welcome visitors and promote the great history of the program. Shared spaces are centrally located, with player development wings extending from the central “knuckle” and main entry.

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