Younger Family Campus Center

Project Name: Younger Family Campus Center

Year: 2016

Client: Lakeland University

Employer: Workshop Architects

Location: Plymouth, Wisconsin

Keywords: Renovation, Moments that matter, Mapping students’ experiences, Excavating modernist architecture

 

Challenge: Renovating a seemingly “old” building on campus; only that it wasn’t old, it was mid-century modern.

 

Solution: The old building on campus, long in need of renovation, caught our attention. Upon our arrival, it was evident that a midcentury modern architecture had been overshadowed by multiple "renovations" over the years, accommodating evolving campus requirements. This realization shifted the project's focus to rediscovering its Modernist roots.

 

This led to the question: How might the architecture's modernist essence be harnessed to better serve student needs? Within this context, a notable feature was the space on the ground level, provided by the pilotis elevating the structure. A study of student experiences within the building highlighted three predominant modes of engagement. These were subsequently represented in three distinct zones on the ground floor: Lean forward (for high activity content creation), lean back (for content or knowledge absorption), and laid back (for recharge and restoration).

 

Meanwhile, the upper level was envisioned for food and performance. The challenge arose when the campus leadership sought energy efficiency for the upper level. Their solution was to replace the façade entirely, risking the erasure of the building's modernist and regional nuances, such as the texturized façade with protruding bricks. As an alternative, we proposed a paradigm shift to encase the entire second floor in a transparent, glass curtain wall instead of a hard exterior. This approach aimed to both honor and enhance the building's regional modernist features (like ample natural light, open plan, local material usage, and expansive windowpanes) while integrating sustainable construction.