The University of Cincinnati
A New Home for Future Champions
Designed for performance
The University of Cincinnati is redefining what it means to train, compete, and recruit at the highest level. With its transition into the Big 12 Conference, one of the four highest-earning and most historically successful football conferences in the USA, the Cincinnati Bearcats college football team needed a facility to match its ambition. Co-designed by Gensler and MSA Design, the new Indoor Practice Facility (IPF) and Performance Center is more than a training ground. It’s a game-changer for recruitment and a hub for athlete development that seamlessly blends functionality with striking design.
The 84,000-square-foot facility is built with one goal in mind: to provide athletes with an elite, year-round training space that eliminates the constraints of weather that their previous facility couldn’t handle. The full-length, roofed, 120-yard synthetic turf field gives teams the flexibility to practice at full capacity, while the Performance Center introduces advanced strength training, recovery, and sports science facilities—ensuring athletes perform at their peak.
An inviting atmosphere
Visually, the architects’ goal for the facility was to strike a balance between openness and protection. One side is clad in polycarbonate and metal, offering durability and shielding from the elements, while the opposite side incorporates glass, inviting natural light into the space and providing transparency where needed. The diffused light filtering through the polycarbonate panels creates an evenly lit, dynamic interior that minimizes harsh shadows—an essential factor for training.
This interplay between interior and exterior extends beyond just lighting: inside, offices overlook the training grounds, reinforcing a sense of connection between athletes, coaches, and staff. The building’s outer design and overall structure also respond to its unique site—a hillside—in a way that feels both grand and approachable. As you move up the hill, the scale gradually steps down, creating a more human-centered perspective that keeps the experience immersive and welcoming rather than imposing. An experience that was both a challenge and a joy to bring to life with cutting-edge 3D visualization.
Photogenic design
An architectural project of this scale and significance requires careful communication from the designers’ part and top-notch visual storytelling. With the visualization pack we provided for Gensler, they needed to convince three key audiences: the review committee overseeing the campus planning, donors and sponsors eager to invest in the next big thing, and last but not least: the very athletes looking to make full use of this state-of-the-art facility.
To meet these objectives, every aspect of the architectural visualization process had to be deliberate and strategic. Thanks to its highly photogenic design, the building presented great opportunities for our artist team to capture its essence from all angles. From sweeping exterior renderings that highlight its impact on the campus skyline to immersive interior perspectives that show how the facility interconnects athletes, staff, and visitors, the goal was to present not just the architecture, but the experience it creates.
Growing presence
At ZOA, we understand that an architectural proposal is only as strong as the story it tells. Our long-time collaborator, Gensler, shares this sentiment. Thankfully, being composed of architect-trained artists, our expert team brings a deep understanding of form, function, and spatial experience—essential for translating ambitious designs into impactful imagery that communicates ideas through visual narratives. This project served as another opportunity for us to be part of a transformative work that redefines the way architecture is experienced and communicated.
Following many fruitful endeavors with firms overseas, this recent collaboration with Gensler further underlines our growing presence in the US architectural visualization market. As studios and developers continue to push boundaries, we stand ready to support them with compelling, competition-winning visuals.
Project details
Location
Cincinnati, United States
Design
Team
Péter Kollár
Andreas Cesarini
Farkas Bence
Dani Oláh
Services
Exterior Renderings
Interior Renderings
