The Karsh Alumni and Visitors Center will total almost 47,000 sf across three different buildings on Duke University’s campus. Centerbrook Architects & Planners designed the new complex, which includes event and office space for the Duke Alumni Association and a visitor center.
The largest aspect of the complex is a new 20,200-sf events building with a grand dining and presentation hall, exhibits and lounges, a café, visitor support services, and a smaller meeting pavilion wing. The building is designed to be the first campus stop for returning alumni, prospective students, and visitors. “The striking contemporary glass complements solid walls that hint at Gothic traditions with vertical fenestration, cast stone panels, and a base of locally quarried ‘Duke stone,’ a prominent campus characteristic,” says Mark Simon, FAIA, Centerbrook Principal and Project Architect.
Rendering courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.
The second building is a new 16,900-sf, two-story alumni office meant for staff who support Duke’s alumni and development activities. The third aspect of the project is the renovation of the 7,400-sf Forlines House. This building was part of the original design of Duke’s West Campus that was originally constructed as a private residence for a university leader and used most recently as Duke’s Office of News and Communications. The renovation will remove modifications implemented through the years and restores the original rooms and details on the first floor. The renovations will also enhance the second floor for continued use as executive offices.
Rendering courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.
Rendering courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.
Rendering courtesy of Centerbrook Architects.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2024
3 considerations for designing healthy, adaptable student dining
Amanda Vigneau, IIDA, NCDIQ, LEED ID+C, Director, Shepley Bulfinch, shares three ways student dining facilities have evolved to match changes in student life.
Laboratories | Jul 3, 2024
New science, old buildings: Renovating for efficiency, flexibility, and connection
What does the research space of the future look like? And can it be housed in older buildings—or does it require new construction?
University Buildings | Jun 28, 2024
The American University in Cairo launches a 270,000-sf expansion of its campus in New Cairo, Egypt
In New Cairo, Egypt, The American University in Cairo (AUC) has broken ground on a roughly 270,000-sf expansion of its campus. The project encompasses two new buildings intended to enhance the physical campus and support AUC’s mission to provide top-tier education and research.
University Buildings | Jun 18, 2024
UC Riverside’s new School of Medicine building supports team-based learning, showcases passive design strategies
The University of California, Riverside, School of Medicine has opened the 94,576-sf, five-floor Education Building II (EDII). Created by the design-build team of CO Architects and Hensel Phelps, the medical school’s new home supports team-based student learning, offers social spaces, and provides departmental offices for faculty and staff.
Headquarters | Jun 5, 2024
Several new projects are upgrading historic Princeton, N.J.
Multifamily, cultural, and office additions are among the new construction.
Mass Timber | May 31, 2024
Mass timber a big part of Western Washington University’s net-zero ambitions
Western Washington University, in Bellingham, Wash., 90 miles from Seattle, is in the process of expanding its ABET-accredited programs for electrical engineering, computer engineering and science, and energy science. As part of that process, the university is building Kaiser Borsari Hall, the 54,000-sf new home for those academic disciplines that will include teaching labs, research labs, classrooms, collaborative spaces, and administrative offices.
Products and Materials | May 31, 2024
Top building products for May 2024
BD+C Editors break down May's top 15 building products, from Durat and CaraGreen's Durat Plus to Zurn Siphonic Roof Drains.
University Buildings | May 30, 2024
Washington University School of Medicine opens one of the world’s largest neuroscience research buildings
In St. Louis’ Cortex Innovation District, Washington University School of Medicine recently opened its new Jeffrey T. Fort Neuroscience Research Building. Designed by CannonDesign and Perkins&Will, the 11-story, 609,000-sf facility is one of the largest neuroscience buildings in the world.
University Buildings | May 10, 2024
UNC Chapel Hill’s new medical education building offers seminar rooms and midsize classrooms—and notably, no lecture halls
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has unveiled a new medical education building, Roper Hall. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) and Flad Architects, the UNC School of Medicine’s new building intends to train new generations of physicians through dynamic and active modes of learning.
Student Housing | May 3, 2024
Student housing construction dips in the first quarter of 2024
Investment in college dorms dipped slightly in the first quarter of 2024, but remains higher than a year ago.
