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

Kol Emeth Center ext
| Sep 15, 2022

First LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue opens

Kol Emeth Center, the world’s first LEED Platinum, net zero and net zero water synagogue, opened recently in Palo Alto, Calif.

Solar Panel Roof
| Sep 14, 2022

Fires on Amazon warehouse roofs seemingly caused by faulty PV installations

Amazon has made installing solar panels on rooftops a key part of its ESG strategy, but a series of events last year show how challenging greening up major facilities can be.

Kenaitze Education Campus
| Sep 14, 2022

Indian tribe’s new educational campus supports culturally appropriate education

The Kenaitze Indian Tribe recently opened the Kahtnuht’ana Duhdeldiht Campus (Kenai River People’s Learning Place), a new education center in Kenai, Alaska.

Mass Timber Construction Building
| Sep 13, 2022

California building codes now allow high-rise mass-timber buildings

California recently enacted new building codes that allow for high-rise mass-timber buildings to be constructed in the state.

Orange County Civic Center ext 1
| Sep 13, 2022

Orange County opens civic center complex—one of California’s largest P3 projects

Orange County’s recently opened County Administration North (CAN) building caps an urban center development that constitutes one of California’s largest ever P3 projects.

Life sciences lab trends for 2022 Regenxbio’s corporate headquarters in Rockville, Md., Haiken Mason Photography
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2022

Lab space scarcity propels construction demand in life sciences sector

In its 2021 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, JLL predicted that access to talent would be a primary concern for an industry sector that had been growing by leaps and bounds. A year later, talent still guides real estate decisions. But market conditions of a different sort were cooling the biotech field: namely, investors that have soured on startups which underperformed after going public. What this means for new construction and renovation going forward is unpredictable, as the drivers behind life sciences’ surge are still palpable.

FWA Group will add to HCM's presence in K-12, higher education, and healthcare sectors.
Architects | Sep 12, 2022

FWA Group joins national architecture, interior design, and planning firm Hord Coplan Macht 

Hord Coplan Macht acquires FWA Group.

Architecture Industry union
| Sep 12, 2022

Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize

Staff at New York City architecture firm is first in U.S. to unionize.

San Antonio Courthouse ext 1
| Sep 12, 2022

San Antonio’s new courthouse aims to provide safety and security while also welcoming the public

The San Antonio Federal Courthouse, which opened earlier this year, replaces a courthouse that had been constructed as a pavilion for the 1968 World’s Fair. 

Top Casino Architects for 2022 FireKeepers Casino Hotel Expansion, Battle Creek, Mich., designed by JCJ Architecture
Giants 400 | Sep 9, 2022

Top 20 Casino Architecture + AE Firms for 2022

JCJ Architecture, DLR Group, HBG Design, and Cuningham top the ranking of the nation's largest casino architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2022, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.

boombox1
boombox2

Top Articles

native1

More In Category

Resiliency

Austin area evacuation center will double as events venue

A new 45,000 sf FEMA-operated evacuation shelter in the Greater Austin metropolitan area will begin construction this fall. The center will be available to house people in the event of a disaster such as a major hurricane and double as an events venue when not needed for emergency shelter.

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