WSU Outdoor Adventure and Welcome Center: Award of Merit Small Project (Under $10M)
This new welcome center is also the new home for the university’s outdoor recreation program and highlights its commitment to outdoor adventure and education. The location offers inspiring views of the Wasatch Mountains, but the site was small, with a 16-ft grade change. Crews built a series of retaining walls to create individualized entries for the two programs that share the building. The technical training center includes a 55-ft-tall climbing wall, bouldering walls, rescue training areas and a rooftop rappelling and rigging area. The base of the 55-ft climbing tower was partially buried 20 ft below grade with keyed footings spanning 10 ft, a task that was further complicated by unstable soils and perennial water flows, requiring the team to implement dewatering measures to keep the project on schedule.