Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge

The old LSU Gym/Armory Building was renovated and refurbished by The Lemoine Co. LLC of Lafayette into a modern, updated facility housing the Cox Communications Academic Center for Student Athletes.

Original materials were utilized to restore, renovate and celebrate the historic building. The center is a conversion of more than 55,000 sq. ft. of existing gymnasium/armory space into a state-of-the-art facility for LSU.

One of the most challenging aspects of the project was overcoming the existing building conditions. Having been built in 1927, the original structure was not constructed in accordance with the current construction tolerances.

More specifically, the contract documents called for the inside of some exterior walls to receive gypsum board on 7/8-in. channel anchored to the existing brick. This was made difficult since the existing brick walls were irregular and deformed. The window openings on the building appear to be reasonably level to the naked eye, but in some rooms were out of level by as much as 1 in. to 2 in.

This was critical in the Hall of Fame and Champions where the walls were finished in limestone and the architect wanted the face of the limestone to be flush with the face of the window mullion.

To overcome the obstacle, Lemoine Co. framed the window to meet the conditions of the highest sill elevation.

The building's old gymnasium was transformed into a 1,000-seat auditorium for the university, serving as both a classroom and a lecture hall for distinguished visitors to the university, fully equipped with a 40-ft. by 20-ft. retractable projection screen.