Quiz+4

The Cleveland State University Student Center is designed as a contemporary structure to give a new sense of place to the university and reconnect the university to the city of Cleveland. The Center responds to a growing student population, the new 138,000 square foot Cleveland State University Student Center is the focus of community life for the University and the “living room” for students. Rising on the site of the current administration and student center, the new facility is smaller in both footprint and height than the 1970’s building it replaces. The sculptural solution is an iconic structure that provides for the principal extracurricular and social elements of student life. All the functions in the building, bookstore, dining, lounge, computer access, offices for student activities and conference meeting spaces, are housed on three stories surrounding a central atrium. The Euclid Avenue main entry leads directly into this sky-lit circulation and activity space, which also connects with campus pedestrian bridges, the main plaza, and below grade parking behind and beneath the center. The new Center engages and enlivens its urban surroundings. Visitors that enter from the Euclid Avenue side are greeted with verdant lawns and a broad entryway that slopes gently from the street front, a subtle, welcoming touch that also facilitates barrier-free access to multi levels around the perimeter of the building. The concept of circulation through the building is a major north/south axis on each floor traversing "Town & Gown", and the major east/west axis along the elevated “Innerlink” sky-bridge system connecting the building to the campus. The three-story central atrium allows natural daylight into the building and provides transparency to view activities happening outside the building envelope, making the exterior program as important as the interior. The main entry on Euclid Avenue leads directly into this atrium and provides a link between the campus and city allowing the Student Center to act as a beacon for the University. A wide range of student services are offered in the building, with the atrium serving as the main circulation and activity space while creating connectivity for building functions. Open on all three floors of the Center, the atrium lounges allow students to create areas gatherings and meetings, often the catalyst for student-faculty interaction. Retail spaces on the first floor respond to campus and city interaction. The bookstore invites visibility through a large expanse of windows and the Pub, with an exterior patio facing the city, connects to the internal function of the atrium. Food service and access to the walkway bridges are located on the second floor where dining options are provided. Student Government offices are located on the path of the bridges giving them a “storefront” to the campus community while encouraging students to become active in campus life. Large gatherings are held in the third-floor, 800-seat Ballroom that is also rented to outside groups bringing more of the community into the building.
 * Vertical and horizontal circulation of the Cleveland State University Student Center and its surroundings.**

The building’s urban context drove the selection of a simple palette of materials, while also expressing functional components on the exterior. media type="file" key="quiz 4.mp3"