Location:
Washington University in Saint Louis
Architect of Record:
Trivers Associates
Role:
Project Manager (Hoffman)
Project Team (Patterson)
Project Team (Ives)
Photography:
Sam Fentress
Status:
Completed 2014
Awards:
2014 AIA Saint Louis Design Merit Award: Unbuilt
Breathing new life into a historic university structure, a Garden Level renovation – derived from the beauty of its unique circumstance -- offers a new strategy to occupy and circulate through this campus landmark. Conceived as the first major initiative to enhance this historically significant structure located within the heart of the university’s campus, the project will play a critical role in the long term future of the building as well as future cross-campus connections.
The primary intent of the renovation is to clarify circulation and way-finding while maximizing access to natural light and limited exterior views for a dynamic set of administrative and student service needs. The project attempts to uncover and amplify the potential in an 85 year old structure. By clearing an existing maze of corridors and cellular spaces, the center of the building is once again understood and re-organized around an offset-cruciform circulation strategy. To maximize ceiling heights, all primary building systems are integrated within a single soffit. Last, in an effort to optimize the overall value of the project through long-term flexibility, a series of storefronts are established with independent controls and support systems allowing subdivision of up to five separate spaces. The primary program areas are delineated by wood-framed glass walls designed to complement the building’s historic details, and similarly, new terrazzo floor in the public areas is utilized to complement existing terrazzo. The Garden Level proposal represents the extraordinary potential of a quiet intervention driven by fluid academic needs within a historic context.