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How to Daylight Deep into a Building’s Core (On a Community College Budget)
Kirkwood Community College had no recreation center—only sports halls. When they decided to build their first multi-purpose facility (running track, basketball courts, tennis, badminton, weight lifting, cardio, and aerobics), they had a clear design vision: openness, light-filled, and uplifting. But they also had a limited budget and a challenging goal—get natural daylight throughout the space, deep into the building’s core. For architect Neumann Monson, daylighting is a hallmark design feature. The question was: how do you deliver beautiful, glare-free daylight deep into a large-scale recreation center without breaking a community college budget?
❌ The Deep-Core Daylighting Challenge
This first-of-its-kind recreation center presented several major challenges:
- Limited Budget: Community college budgets don’t allow for expensive custom daylighting systems. The solution needed to be cost-effective while delivering high performance.
- Deep Daylight Penetration Required: The design goal was natural daylight throughout the space, deep into the building’s core—which can be tricky in large-scale recreation facilities.
- Variable Ceiling Heights: Open and wide with high ceilings in the center core, other areas had lower ceilings. The daylighting solution needed to work across different geometries.
- Glare Control Essential: For a running track, basketball courts, and other athletic activities, glare-free light is non-negotiable for safety and performance.
- High Performance Requirements: Needed a durable, long-lasting solution that incorporated glare control, high insulation value, and energy efficiency.
- Minimal Staffing: The open concept meant very few staff were needed for operation—the building needed to work efficiently without constant supervision.
✓ The Solution: Strategic Solera® in High Bay Areas
Founding Partner and Principal Kevin Monson of Neumann Monson recalled seeing a journal advertisement in the early 2000s for Solera® by Advanced Glazings Ltd. “We chose Solera® because we were looking for a durable, long lasting and high-performance solution that incorporated glare control, high insulation value and energy efficiency,” says Monson.
Strategic Placement: Solera® was placed strategically in the high bay area, offering “beautiful light, glare free and is the most significant characteristic of the building diffusing natural daylight equally around the track and integrating seamlessly with vision glass allowing for view of the pond and access to nature.”
The Benefits:
- Deep Daylight Penetration: Delivers natural daylight throughout the space, deep into the building’s core
- Glare-Free Performance: Beautiful, glare-free light essential for athletic activities
- Seamless Integration: Works with vision glass to provide views of the pond and access to nature
- Energy Efficiency: High insulation value reduces operational costs
- Durability: Same high-quality daylighting for well over 10 years since the building first opened
The program was simple for the community college: their first multi-purpose building which encompassed a running track, basketball courts, floor space for tennis and badminton, weight lifting, cardio area, and aerobics space. By placing daylighting at the center of the design, Neumann Monson created a long-lasting, functional, and beautifully daylighted recreation center.
The Proof: A Building That Glows and Becomes a Magnet for Student Use
The open floor plan project offered more than daylighting during the daytime. At night, the building glows during the winter months for a beautiful lantern effect. “The building always glows and becomes a magnet for student use. Solera® draws both a daytime and night time glow from within,” says Monson.
“Kirkwood Community College Recreation Center was very well received by clients and the public that uses the space,” says Monson. By having daylighting at the center of the design, Neumann Monson was able to create a long-lasting functional and beautifully daylighted new-build recreation center that students, staff, and the community have been enjoying for well over 10 years with the same high-quality daylighting from Solera® since the building first opened.
Why Daylighting is a Hallmark of Neumann Monson Designs
For Neumann Monson, daylighting isn’t an afterthought—it’s a hallmark design feature of their projects. When Kevin Monson saw a journal advertisement for Solera® in the early 2000s, he recognized a solution that could deliver on multiple fronts: durability, performance, glare control, insulation value, and energy efficiency.
The Kirkwood Recreation Center demonstrates how strategic daylighting can transform a building from a functional space into a magnet for student use. The combination of beautiful, glare-free daylight during the day and a glowing lantern effect at night creates a building that draws people in—not just because of what it offers, but because of how it feels.
The Takeaway: Deep Daylight Penetration on a Community College Budget
Large-scale recreation centers with deep floor plates present a daylighting challenge: how do you get natural light throughout the space, deep into the building’s core, without expensive custom systems?
The Kirkwood Community College Recreation Center proves that with strategic placement of high-performance daylighting products, you can deliver beautiful, glare-free light deep into the building’s core—even on a limited budget. The result is a building that has been serving students, staff, and the community for over 10 years with the same high-quality daylighting since day one.
When daylighting is at the center of the design (not an afterthought), you create buildings that become magnets for use—glowing during the day, glowing at night, and drawing people in through the quality of light.