In the late 1970’s Jahn designed the St. Mary’s Athletic Facility in Notre Dame, Indiana. The gymnasium is bright, sunny, and very open. Large glass installments and natural light seem to be an enduring characteristic of Jahn’s architecture.
The building is sunk half a level into the ground. This is energy efficient and insulates the building from heat loss in winter. The outside wall is made of insulated white fiberglass. This paired with the use of natural lighting makes the athletic facility more sustainable. The structure is exposed steel, not unlike his first arena. They are painted bright primary colors. The building is double the height that a regular story and the layout is a lot like the Huff on Campus. This is the third building I’ve researched and I am really getting a feel for the horizontality of Jahn’s architecture.