Naval Station Newport John H. Chafee Fitness Center
The Chaffe Fitness Center is designed and engineered to meet the needs of military personnel, students, and their families. The waterfront site presented various challenges to redevelopment as an athletic facility, including its Superfund site location. The site, a FEMA Zone A with wave action, necessitated elevating the building by 5 feet on 370 mini-piles. The gymnasium, natatorium, and fitness areas, including racquetball courts and fitness rooms, are enhanced by a 1.5-mile indoor elevated running track offering water views. SMRT designed the high-performance building to Anti-Terrorism Force Protection (ATFP) standards. The Fitness Center earned LEED Gold certification.
Client
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Newport
Location
Newport, RI
Square Feet
66,302
Completion Year
2014
Indoor elevated running track.
The fitness center includes a gymnasium, natatorium, fitness areas, racquetball courts, outdoor tennis courts, and a softball field.
Developing an athletic facility on the waterfront site posed several challenges due to its Superfund site location. The site falls under the Federal Emergency Management Agency Zone A, which means that it is susceptible to wave action. To address this, the building had to be elevated by 5 feet on 370 mini-piles.
Photography by Trent Bell.
