Large cantilevered terra cotta screens will create a “front porch” for the expansion to Drexel University’s Korman Center.
Construction will soon begin on Gluckman Tang Architects’ new project, a renovation to the Philadelphia academic building that opened in 1958.
The school and architects (including landscape design Andropogon Associates) wanted to improve the campus atmosphere by creating a sort of outdoor living room. Large screens will hang 15 feet off the face of the building, under which students can sit, socialize, and work. The screen also shields the building’s two-story glazed wall from solar heat gain.
The first floor of the building features a double-height lobby and lounges. Study spaces on the second floor overlook the outdoor spaces. Plans call for 9,000 sf of common space inside the building.
“This project presents an opportunity to engage and enhance the heart of the Drexel campus,” said Dana Tang, partner at Gluckman Tang Architects. “Our design aspires to give new life to the public face of the Korman Center by projecting openness and transparency and creating dynamic, day-lit interior spaces that connect with an active front porch on the Korman Quad.”
The open green area around the building, named the Korman Quadrangle, will be spruced up with new walkways and canopy trees, which provide more shade so students can comfortably relax in the quad.
Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2017. The project costs $16 million, split between the university and a gift from the Hyman Korman Family Foundation.
(Click renderings to enlarge.)
Related Stories
University Buildings | Apr 16, 2019
UMass Amherst’s new copper-clad Business Innovation Hub adds 70,000 sf to the university’s business school
Bjarke Ingels Group designed the facility.
University Buildings | Apr 9, 2019
17-story Data Sciences building to rise on Boston University campus
KPMB Architects is designing the project.
University Buildings | Apr 2, 2019
Denning House completes at Stanford University
Ennead Architects designed the building.
University Buildings | Mar 28, 2019
Tulane University’s new student center combines the old and the new
StudioWTA designed the building.
University Buildings | Mar 27, 2019
Veterans Resource Center at Cypress College breaks ground
Sundt Construction is building the project.
University Buildings | Mar 26, 2019
The Bill & Melinda Gates Center for Computer Science & Engineering opens on the University of Washington campus
LMN Architects designed the facility.
Mixed-Use | Feb 21, 2019
An R&D-oriented innovation district is taking shape in the heart of Durham, N.C.
Its buildout has included converting old tobacco warehouses into offices and labs.
University Buildings | Feb 1, 2019
University of Miami design/build program receives new immersive-learning facility
Professor Rocco Ceo designed the studio space.
University Buildings | Jan 29, 2019
The Colorado School of Mines CoorsTek Center opens
Bohlin Cywinski Jackson designed the building.
University Buildings | Dec 17, 2018
SCUP and University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing release study results on lactation policy and facilities in U.S. higher education
There is a wide variability between how campuses accommodate the needs of breastfeeding mothers.