New Centre for Student Life Re-integrates Campus, City

Gwathmey Siegel & Associates Architects (GSAA), have just finished work on a new Student Center for Cleveland State University in downtown Cleveland. Working with firm Braun & Steidl Architects, GSAA has designed a contemporary structure to give a new sense of place to the university–and reconnect the university to the city of Cleveland.

Marking the start of the second phase of CSU’s master plan to reorient its campus, the 138,000-square-foot center is designed to enhance the campus’ urban profile. Fronting on Euclid Avenue, downtown’s main commercial thoroughfare, GSAA’s center should function as a public gateway, creating an open link with the surrounding city while offering a wide range of services to students and faculty.

When designing houses, the firm of Bohlin Cywinski Jackson has the natural talent of integrating the house in its surroundings. Their work dissolves into a synergetic composition that respects the aesthetic attributes of the landscape.
In the case of this project, as they explain, the client wanted a small home as a retreat from her hectic urban life. She sought to enjoy, throughout the seasons, the seclusion and connection with nature offered by her large forested property in the eastern foothills of the Cascades. The modest project included one bedroom, a guest suite for friends and family, and a garage that could be adaptable for use as a studio/workspace.

The Diversity Recognition Program seeks to recognize architects for exemplary commitment and contributions to diversifying the profession of architecture. A diversified profession mirrors the society it serves; celebrates and encourages the contributions of all architects, regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, physical ability, religious belief, geographic location, or practice; encourages alternatives to traditional practice models; and provides opportunities for a greater variety of individuals to become architects, take advantage of leadership opportunities, and influence our practices and our professional lives.

The third project that BIG has developed in the maturing neighborhood of Orestad, the construction of the 61,000 m2 8 House has come to an end, allowing people to bike all the way from the street up to its 10th level penthouses alongside terraced gardens where the first residents have already moved in.

The project is located in the Quillen’s Point neighborhood, consisting mostly of modest houses on small lots, and adjacent to the Chesapeake Bay in Ocean View, Delaware. An eclectic mix of houses, gravel roads ending at the bay and wooded lots provide a nostalgic, informal setting for this new house. The site is near the end of Burbage Lane, the second lot from the bay with expectations that the adjacent waterfront lot will eventually be developed.