The new student center for the University of Cincinnati is part of a building program to develop its central campus. It reflects the university's commitment to enrich students' educational experience by providing a focal point for campus social life. The university wanted to maintain a continuity of image with the existing campus, expand the number and size of facilities and bring natural light into the building's interior.
The design responds to the need for continuity with a skylit central atrium, student lounge with computer access, food court and dining area, a 200-seat movie theater, an expanded campus bookstore, amphitheater, a multi-purpose great hall, game room and cafe.
Responding to the University's desire for continuity, the student center incorporates key elements of the original 1935 building, a campus landmark. The Greek Revival façade facing the central commons, the original shed roof and its distinctive cupola are all preserved, surrounded by a new glazed rotunda that offers three separate entries and views to the rest of the campus.
The central circulation core at the rotunda, a three-story skylit atrium space, is created by cutting through the floors of the original building and stripping the central area to its structural elements. A large portion of the gabled roof is replaced by glazing that floods the atrium with natural light, above which the original cupola hovers, visible from the atrium.
The second floor of the rotunda houses a conferencing center with flexible meeting spaces arranged around the new atrium. Beneath the new skylight at the McMicken Commons level of the atrium, an open amphitheater provides a place for informal meetings and performances. Additionally, this level houses student lounges which include computer stations where students can work in an informal social setting. On the Main Street level, a student dining lounge offers students several dining options in the manner of a retail food court and is surrounded to the east by a two-story glazed wall that overlooks the sports stadium. The dining facility is developed around a 200 seat theater, which occupies the bottom of the atrium with direct access off the new Main Street pedestrian promenade. The lower level of the student center houses a game room and provides access to the newly created Stadium Plaza. The south wing houses the relocated campus bookstore, an upscale dining facility off McMicken Commons, the central campus kitchen, and a new Great Hall accommodating up to 1,000 people for various events and ceremonies.
Download project pdf for more information
Responding to the University's desire for continuity, the student center incorporates key elements of the original 1935 building, a campus landmark. The Greek Revival façade facing the central commons, the original shed roof and its distinctive cupola are all preserved, surrounded by a new glazed rotunda that offers three separate entries and views to the rest of the campus.
The central circulation core at the rotunda, a three-story skylit atrium space, is created by cutting through the floors of the original building and stripping the central area to its structural elements. A large portion of the gabled roof is replaced by glazing that floods the atrium with natural light, above which the original cupola hovers, visible from the atrium.
The second floor of the rotunda houses a conferencing center with flexible meeting spaces arranged around the new atrium. Beneath the new skylight at the McMicken Commons level of the atrium, an open amphitheater provides a place for informal meetings and performances. Additionally, this level houses student lounges which include computer stations where students can work in an informal social setting. On the Main Street level, a student dining lounge offers students several dining options in the manner of a retail food court and is surrounded to the east by a two-story glazed wall that overlooks the sports stadium. The dining facility is developed around a 200 seat theater, which occupies the bottom of the atrium with direct access off the new Main Street pedestrian promenade. The lower level of the student center houses a game room and provides access to the newly created Stadium Plaza. The south wing houses the relocated campus bookstore, an upscale dining facility off McMicken Commons, the central campus kitchen, and a new Great Hall accommodating up to 1,000 people for various events and ceremonies.
Download project pdf for more information