Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center

Dan J on November 17, 2023

The Joseph A. Steger Student Life Center and renovated Swift Hall are core components within an improved central spine at the University of Cincinnati campus. Here, student activity is organized around the flow of pedestrian movement and the shape of new campus topographies. A dense mix of academic, social, and retail uses coalesce within the Steger Center to provide the community with an urbanity not previously found. The varied mix of uses include classrooms, student organizations, computer labs, dining, retail, and more within a socially dynamic and supportive environment.

At the scale of the individual building, horizontal and vertical movement is designed to encourage informal interaction and socializing, using “social stairs” and an atrium. These attributes are extended to the campus scale through pedestrian connections such as covered arcades for walking, dining and relaxing. The design encourages a broad array of interaction from casual to programmed, and closely relates the Student Life Center to the new, adjacent, student union and recreation centers, collectively functioning as a magnet for activity in the heart of campus.

We were one of four architectural firms responsible for the University of Cincinnati’s new campus master plan before being subsequently selected for the architectural design of the new Student Life Center.

The Science Building

Dan J on November 17, 2023

The Science Building is one of the first two new-built facilities in the phased implementation of our Master Plan for the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus. As part of Phase II, the project builds on the earlier adaptive re-use of the district’s historic warehouses into classrooms, auditoriums, faculty offices, and computer labs.

With its fledgling program of shared spaces, the renovated warehouse complex set the tone for a mixed-use campus—an approach that is continued in the Science Building. Its three levels include a full floor of classrooms, computer dry labs and offices that are adaptable for future science research and teaching. Two additional floors are dedicated to wet labs, including faculty offices and ‘personal-size’ labs for a mix of physical sciences. The primary research and teaching spaces are focused on Marine Biology, complemented by a flexible layer of support spaces that were less than 50% outfitted on opening day.

A key feature is a demonstration of the Master Plan’s innovative approach to accessibility. Situated facing the central spine of the campus– a grand stairway that climbs over four stories of gradient– the Science Building’s semi-autonomous lobby provides extended hours of elevator access up and down the steep slope. Future phases are planned to continue the lobby-access system further up the hill.

Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library

Dan J on November 17, 2023

The 130,000 SF Hugh & Hazel Darling Law Library takes full advantage of its restricted site at a busy campus gateway to create a major icon for entry into this campus district. A corner tower with spectacular views to the city and mountains establishes a strong identity for the entire Law School. The massing of the building is carefully sculpted to mark the eastern corner of a historic east-west campus axis while transitioning back to the scale of adjacent buildings. The library’s exterior offers a fresh interpretation of the University’s traditional use of brick and terracotta and provides a harmonious and lively new identity for the Law School.

The new addition and renovation clarifies movement within the library which had evolved in a haphazard way. Library spaces function at multiple scales from the individual, to small groups, to large campus gatherings. Daylight washes the renovated main reading room thru a new skylight and a dramatic top lit stair connects all levels providing vertical continuity. A special multi-use reading room at the corner tower establishes pride of place for the Law School community.

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