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Cox Communications Academic Center
for Student Athletes, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
Architect:
Trahan Architects, Baton Rouge
Cost: $10 million
Project Design Team: Trey
Trahan, Jason Hargrave, Lisa Hargrave
General Contractor: The
Lemoine Co. LLC, Lafayette
Consultant: McKee &
Deville Consulting Engineers Inc., Baton Rouge
Consultant: Associated Design
Group Consulting Engineers Inc., Lafayette
Consultant: Boner Associates
Inc., Austin, Texas |
When Louisiana State University decided to renovate and restore
one of the most historically significant buildings on its
Baton Rouge campus, Trahan Architects of Baton Rouge approached
the project with two objectives:
To respond to the historical importance of the building
by maintaining the original look and feel of the exterior
skin while respecting the original volumes, patterns and symmetry
of the interior
To create a series of spaces that provided an optimum environment
for learning while being symbolic of the education process
The LSU Gym Armory, completed in 1927 and on the National
Register of Historic Places, was built to provide a gathering
place for the university's growing student population. Located
on a bluff running through the campus, the main floor was
a gymnasium and the lower floor an armory, with both floors
on ground level.
Over the years, the building was renovated many times,
with the 20-ft. ceilings dropped to 8 and 9 ft. to accommodate
mechanical, electrical and fire protection systems. In the
process, the top portion of many of the original arched
windows, indicative of the Italian Renaissance architecture
of the campus, were covered.
To see and feel the skeleton of the original building,
Trahan Architects began with the demolition of the old layers
that had been added over time. As a result, the design responds
to that skeleton, respecting the volumes and the structure
while introducing new materials appropriate for the historical
building.
Trahan's approach was to apply a new skin on the inside
of the building that is in contrast to the historic shell,
with the sequence of spaces becoming an investigation into
the journey, threshold, arrival and reflection of the process
of learning.
A palette of simple, honest materials was chosen to celebrate
the original building and lead to a layered and rich experience
of light, mass and volume that are in contrast to the hectic
pace and distractions in the lives of today's student athletes.
Materials such as white plaster were chosen because they
appear consistent on the surface, with subtle variations
and depth becoming more apparent and appreciated over time,
symbolizing how the process of learning changes one's perspective.
Additionally, the visual impact of mechanical systems was
minimized and layers of trim omitted, leaving only simple
volumes and materials.
To provide a unique means of recognizing the private donations
that made renovation of the building possible, Trahan Architects
designed two bronze walls, located at each of the symmetrical
arched entries to the building. The bronze responds in color
to the iron ore spots of the original St. Joe brick, while
providing a distinct new threshold from the maintained exterior
shell to the renovated interior space.
The names of the donors are water-jet cut into the bronze
surface in descending sizes based on the level of contribution.
A Hall of Champions and an Academic Hall of Fame feature
the names of successful teams and student athletes sandblasted
into the mocha cream limestone walls. This crosscut limestone
was chosen to provide a sense of permanence in honoring
these accomplishments.
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