flexiblefullpage
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.
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

Related Stories

K-12 Schools | Apr 30, 2024

Fully electric Oregon elementary school aims for resilience with microgrid design

The River Grove Elementary School in Oregon was designed for net-zero carbon and resiliency to seismic events, storms, and wildfire. The roughly 82,000-sf school in a Portland suburb will feature a microgrid—a small-scale power grid that operates independently from the area’s electric grid. 

AEC Tech | Apr 30, 2024

Lack of organizational readiness is biggest hurdle to artificial intelligence adoption

Managers of companies in the industrial sector, including construction, have bought the hype of artificial intelligence (AI) as a transformative technology, but their organizations are not ready to realize its promise, according to research from IFS, a global cloud enterprise software company. An IFS survey of 1,700 senior decision-makers found that 84% of executives anticipate massive organizational benefits from AI. 

Codes and Standards | Apr 30, 2024

Updated document details methods of testing fenestration for exterior walls

The Fenestration and Glazing Industry Alliance (FGIA) updated a document serving a recommended practice for determining test methodology for laboratory and field testing of exterior wall systems. The document pertains to products covered by an AAMA standard such as curtain walls, storefronts, window walls, and sloped glazing. AAMA 501-24, Methods of Test for Exterior Walls was last updated in 2015. 

MFPRO+ News | Apr 29, 2024

World’s largest 3D printer could create entire neighborhoods

The University of Maine recently unveiled the world’s largest 3D printer said to be able to create entire neighborhoods. The machine is four times larger than a preceding model that was first tested in 2019. The older model was used to create a 600 sf single-family home made of recyclable wood fiber and bio-resin materials.

K-12 Schools | Apr 29, 2024

Tomorrow's classrooms: Designing schools for the digital age

In a world where technology’s rapid pace has reshaped how we live, work, and communicate, it should be no surprise that it’s also changing the PreK-12 education landscape.

Adaptive Reuse | Apr 29, 2024

6 characteristics of a successful adaptive reuse conversion

In the continuous battle against housing shortages and the surplus of vacant buildings, developers are turning their attention to the viability of adaptive reuse for their properties.

AEC Innovators | Apr 26, 2024

National Institute of Building Sciences announces Building Innovation 2024 schedule

The National Institute of Building Sciences is hosting its annual Building Innovation conference, May 22-24 at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C. BI2024 brings together everyone who impacts the built environment: government agencies, contractors, the private sector, architects, scientists, and more. 

Mass Timber | Apr 25, 2024

Bjarke Ingels Group designs a mass timber cube structure for the University of Kansas

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and executive architect BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design. A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core.

Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 25, 2024

How pools can positively affect communities

Clark Nexsen senior architects Jennifer Heintz and Dorothea Schulz discuss how pools can create jobs, break down barriers, and create opportunities within communities.

Senior Living Design | Apr 24, 2024

Nation's largest Passive House senior living facility completed in Portland, Ore.

Construction of Parkview, a high-rise expansion of a Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) in Portland, Ore., completed recently. The senior living facility is touted as the largest Passive House structure on the West Coast, and the largest Passive House senior living building in the country.

boombox1
boombox2
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