The new Student Activity Center at Presidential Village features the fitness and wellness amenities that define today’s campus rec centers, as well as spaces to enhance the “First-Year Experience” that include a housing and residential communities’ office, a parent programs office, a food court and open lounge space that encourages socialization. The recreation center is a satellite facility that accommodates students and staff in the North Bluffs area of campus. The media lounge provides a natural and compelling conclusion for campus tours. The complex is unified by an entry concourse that provides a strong, striking and friendly image. As a reaction to a devastating tornado in 2011 that narrowly missed the campus, designers also included a lower level emergency storm shelter that can accommodate 3,200, with a reinforced floor structure above, emergency power and redundant fuel sources.  Associated firm: William Blackstock Architects