September 2023
The award-winning Idaho Central Credit Union Arena at the University of Idaho serves as a national model for the use of mass timber for long-span sports facilities. This 4,000-seat arena is the new home for the Vandals basketball teams and a gathering place for a variety of school and community events. It is also a learning laboratory for students in the forest and engineering departments.
The design by Opsis Architecture showcases the use of locally harvested wood and mass timber structural elements, provided by Sansin partner StructureCraft. The design of the soaring, doubly-curved roof was inspired by the surrounding landscape and was built using a large glulam portal frame and 140-footlong glulam king-post trusses. The facility also includes a three-level structure housing locker rooms, coaches’ offices, and alumni center, which was constructed with a glulam post-and-beam system and DLT panels.
Sansin’s factory finish penetrating protective KP-12 Undercoat was applied to all exposed structural wood members, and a coat of SDF Topcoat (natural) was added for extra protection. To bring out the beauty of building’s cedar siding and create contrast, some of the shingles were finished with two coats of SDF Onyx (27) and others were protected with two coats of SDF (natural). All of the shingles received a third coat of SDF Topcoat (natural).
