Designed by Teeple Architects and GWWO Architects, The Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall Student Services Centre bridges the historic and modern buildings on the university campus. Morgan State University (MSU) in Baltimore is one of the nation’s premier historically black institutions of higher education offering a comprehensive range of undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Founded in 1867, the university was designated a ‘National Treasure’ in 2016 by The National Trust for Historic Preservation. Its campus extends from a historic academic quad in a neoclassical style to a campus commons surrounded by modern buildings. Teeple Architects, working in collaboration with GWWO Architects, was tasked with designing a student services centre that would bridge the historic academic quad and the modern campus commons, while also establishing an iconic and uplifting “front-door” to the university.
The Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall Student Services Centre improves the overall student experience by establishing a welcoming entry point for current and prospective students and gathering the university’s formerly dispersed administrative and student services under a single roof. The building has an expressive form, with sweeping curved walls that reach out to embrace its surroundings and invite students into the dynamic campus, while its stone cladding links it to history and tradition.
Much care was given to finding a limestone cladding that would blend with the palette of Maryland field stone found on the older adjacent buildings while allowing for a more contemporary architectural expression desired by the university. The limestone cladding is accented with prismatic metal cladding that subtly shifts between rich copper and orange hues, depending on the weather, time of day and viewing angle.
Topographically, both the academic quad and the campus commons are two connected main entrances. Inside, the student centre features departmental reception areas and service desks organized along a series of flowing, multi-storey lounges with ample seating, study, and collaboration spaces. A monumental stair with gently curved landings and a continuous wood soffit forms the connective tissue between the three levels of public lobbies and lounges. On the third floor there’s a large, landscaped terrace, which has a space for small events and gatherings, has panoramic views of the centered on the historic campus.
CREDITS:
Architectural Design: Teeple Architects, GWWO Architects
Building Date: 2020
Total Construction Area: 13.160 sqm
Location: Baltimore, USA
Photographs: Nic Lehoux
NATURAL STONE:
FACADE:
LIMESTONE
