With mounting academic, social, and environmental pressures, universities around the country are seeking ways to provide holistic wellness services to support students as they navigate the challenges of academic life. The Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics co-locates CMU’s University Health Services (UHS), Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Wellness Initiatives, Religious and Spiritual Life Initiatives, and Athletics, ensuring students have access to the support they need to thrive. Whether it is an athlete meeting with a therapist to help manage anxiety, a grad student who needs a quiet place for daily prayers, or an engineering undergrad playing pick-up basketball with friends, the Highmark Center for Health, Wellness and Athletics is a welcoming hub for student life and whole-self well-being. The LEED Gold design integrates wellness and nature throughout with strong connections to the outdoors and a focus on creating healthy indoor spaces with access to natural light, ventilation, and natural materials.

The Highmark Center is positioned at the southern campus entrance along the border of Schenley Park, presenting an inviting “front door” that connects with the surrounding natural context and puts wellness on display. The project restores and integrates the historic 1923 Skibo Gymnasium with a design that respects the beloved Henry Hornbostel-designed structure, with a complementary material palette and a fine-tuned sense of scale and proportion. Abundant, flexible spaces for student life range from public and extroverted, like the cascading Tech Street concourse, to quiet and contemplative, like the interior wellness garden and interfaith room—a program as diverse as the student body it serves.