flexiblefullpage

HORIZONTV FEATURING BD+C: WATCH EPISODES ON DEMAND AT HORIZONTV

Menu View Full Menu
Subscribe Here
billboard
interstitial1
catfish1
Currently Reading

Sacred synergy achieves goals for religious education [2013 Building Team Award winner]

Sacred synergy achieves goals for religious education [2013 Building Team Award winner]

A renovation/addition project at Columbia Theological Seminary unites a historic residence hall with a modern classroom facility.

By Raissa Rocha, Associate Editor | June 12, 2013
The tower at the Vernon S. Broyles Leadership Center unifies a new addition (lef
The tower at the Vernon S. Broyles Leadership Center unifies a new addition (left) with the rehabilitated Simons-Law building (right). The glass tower, which was built to support a future carillon, features brick piers that reinforce the projects neoGothic style.
This article first appeared in the BD+C June 2013 issue of BD+C.
Continue Reading
Columbia Theological Seminary, just east of Atlanta, offers graduate degree programs and continuing education for professionals and lay people in the Presbyterian Church (USA). Devoted to the spiritual growth of students, the seminary’s Vernon S. Broyles Jr. Leadership Center features a modern new classroom facility plus a renovation of the adjacent Simons-Law building, a historic dormitory built in 1932. The project represents a successful collaboration between the owner and other Building Team members—fitting for an educational institution that ranks teamwork and cooperative decisionmaking among its core values.
 
The original master plan called for the demolition and replacement of Simons-Law. But team members Lord, Aeck & Sargent and New South Construction saw the building as important to the campus, and presented stakeholders (including donors) with a detailed cost analysis that compared new construction with an addition/renovation. They convinced the client to retain the historic structure. Smaller spaces such as offices and seminar rooms would be reprogrammed into Simons-Law, and a 16,000-sf L-shaped addition would house large lecture halls, high-tech seminar rooms, the campus bookstore, a media center, informal study spaces, and a gallery concourse devoted to religious artifacts.
 
To rehabilitate Simons-Law, the team replaced lighting, HVAC, plumbing, exterior windows, and interior walls and doors. Roof shingles were replaced with synthetic slate, and the structure’s brick and cast stone walls were cleaned and repaired.
 
The architect also took care to ensure the seamless combination of the Gothic building with its new neighbor. An arcade links Simons-Law’s iconic arched passageway with the new building, creating a cloistered courtyard that also functions as an outdoor classroom.
 
Daylighting was a concern for the large classroom spaces in the addition, which were outfitted with high-tech A/V systems. The goal was to minimize use of artificial lighting while also avoiding the need for motorized shades. After careful study, the architect, A/V consultant, and CM created a classroom environment that makes excellent use of natural daylight while also ensuring that students will be able to see projections.
 
Other sustainable strategies included construction of a cistern, allowing rainwater to be collected for irrigation; a new energy-efficient variable refrigerant flow mechanical system; and the harvesting of wood on-site for flooring. The efforts paid off in a successful bid for LEED Gold certification.
 
The focal point of the project, melding old and new construction, is a neo-Gothic glass-and-brick tower that welcomes visitors to the center. With flooring made from a tree that once stood where the tower was built, this element was designed to unite all aspects of the project. The Building Team provided appropriate structural support for a planned belfry carillon, which will ring chimes for future generations of leaders as they make their way across the scenic campus.
 
Project summary
BRONZE AWARD
 
Columbia Theological Seminary
Vernon S. Broyles Jr. Leadership Center
Decatur, Ga.
 
BUILDING TEAM
Submitting firm: Lord, Aeck & Sargent (architect)
Owner/developer: Columbia Theological Seminary
Structural: Uzun & Case Engineers
MEP: AHA Consulting Engineers
Program manager: Morgan Constructors
A/V consultant: Waveguide Consulting
Construction manager: New South Construction
 
GENERAL INFORMATION
Project size: 36,500 sf (16,000 sf new + 20,500 sf renovated)
Construction cost: $8.2 million
Construction time: February 2011 to January 2012
Delivery method: CM at risk

Tags

Related Stories

Rendering of The Phoenix affordable housing development
Affordable Housing | Aug 7, 2024

The future of affordable housing may be modular, AI-driven, and made of mushrooms

Demolished in 1989, The Phoenix Ironworks Steel Factory left a five-acre hole in West Oakland, Calif. After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the site will soon become utilized again in the form of 316 affordable housing units.

People talking in the office
Architects | Aug 5, 2024

Mastering the art of project schedule: Expert insights on design and construction

We sat down with two experts in the design field, Ron Dick (Founding Partner and Architect) and Mike Niezer (COO and Architect), to talk about everything you need to know about the entire process.

UC Riverside’s Student Health and Counseling Center provides an environment on par with major medical centers Photo courtesy HGA
University Buildings | Aug 1, 2024

UC Riverside’s student health center provides an environment on par with major medical centers

The University of California, Riverside's new Student Health and Counseling Center (SHCC) provides a holistic approach to wellness for students throughout the UC Riverside campus. Designed by HGA and delivered through a design-build partnership with Turner Construction Company, SHCC provides healthcare offerings in an environment on par with major medical centers.

library
Libraries | Aug 1, 2024

How current and future trends are shaping the libraries of tomorrow

Over the last few years, public libraries have transitioned from being buildings that only store and lend books to being fully featured community centers.

Image by Peggy und Marco Lachmann-Anke from Pixabay
MFPRO+ News | Aug 1, 2024

Canada tries massive incentive program to spur new multifamily housing construction

Canada has taken the unprecedented step of offering billions in infrastructure funds to communities in return for eliminating single-family housing zoning.

Multiple energy sources will power Charlotte’s new Fire Station #30, including solar roof panels and geothermal wells.
Government Buildings | Aug 1, 2024

One of the country’s first all-electric fire stations will use no outside energy sources

Charlotte, N.C.’s new Fire Station #30 will be one of the country’s first all-electric fire stations, using no outside energy sources other than diesel fuel for one or two of the fire trucks. Multiple energy sources will power the station, including solar roof panels and geothermal wells. The two-story building features three truck bays, two fire poles, dispatch area, contamination room, and gear storage.

Image by Ralph from Pixabay
Contractors | Aug 1, 2024

Nonresidential construction spending decreased 0.2% in June

National nonresidential construction spending declined 0.2% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.21 trillion. Nonresidential construction has expanded 5.3% from a year ago.

University of Michigan’s Central Campus residence hall, as seen looking west from Hill Street. Rendering © RAMSA
Student Housing | Jul 31, 2024

The University of Michigan addresses a decades-long student housing shortage with a new housing-dining facility

The University of Michigan has faced a decades-long shortage of on-campus student housing. In a couple of years, the situation should significantly improve with the addition of a new residential community on Central Campus in Ann Arbor, Mich. The University of Michigan has engaged American Campus Communities in a public-private partnership to lead the development of the environmentally sustainable living-learning student community.

Image by Pexels from Pixabay
MFPRO+ New Projects | Jul 31, 2024

Shipping containers converted into attractive, affordable multifamily housing in L.A.

In the Watts neighborhood in Los Angeles, a new affordable multifamily housing project using shipping containers resulted in 24 micro-units for formerly unhoused residents. The containers were acquired from a nearby port and converted into housing units at a factory.

Empty mall to be converted to UCLA Research Park Rendering courtesy Flad Architects
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 30, 2024

Empty mall to be converted to UCLA Research Park

UCLA recently acquired a former mall that it will convert into the UCLA Research Park that will house the California Institute for Immunology and Immunotherapy at UCLA and the UCLA Center for Quantum Science and Engineering, as well as programs across other disciplines. The 700,000-sf property, formerly the Westside Pavilion shopping mall, is two miles from the university’s main Westwood campus. Google, which previously leased part of the property, helped enable and support UCLA’s acquisition.

boombox1
boombox2

Top Articles

native1

More In Category

halfpage1

Most Popular Content

  1. 2021 Giants 400 Report
  2. Top 150 Architecture Firms for 2019
  3. 13 projects that represent the future of affordable housing
  4. Sagrada Familia completion date pushed back due to coronavirus
  5. Top 160 Architecture Firms 2021