Project Title
Robert B. Aikens Commons
Award Category
Steel
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
The Law Quad, built in the 1930s, is a lovely collegiate Gothic complex consisting of four separate buildings, with the most recent
addition of the Underground Library completed in 1981. The 1990s brought a shift in legal education, and however lovely these
buildings are, a functional element was lacking. There was no central social hub for students, faculty and alumni that could double
as a venue for student activities, clubs, events and colloquiums.
The University’s goal was to create a social center that would strengthen the Law School’s sense of community and to seamlessly
connect the academic buildings, while respecting and enhancing the remarkable surrounding architecture. The new addition
accomplishes this goal and its design defines how modernity in its use of steel can coexist with traditional limestone. Paying
tribute to the natural life in the underutilized courtyard, the design of the steel structure in the Commons recalls those trees and
the students now are enveloped within new stately trees, supporting a spectacular glass sky that brings in all the outside beauty.
The atrium roof is a lattice of gently curved hollow structural section members, consisting of 54 curved ribs and four tiers of purlins.
These members allowed for exceptionally clean detailing and were pre-assembled in the fabrication shop prior to being shipped
segmentally to the site for erection. The roof is supported by eight tree-like columns fabricated from W24x84 sections. Each
column extends through the main floor slab to the lower-level space below, providing an opportunity to create fixity at the column
where it penetrates the slab. This fixity creates lateral stability for the atrium, which is subject to unbalanced wind loads and snow
loads. The lateral stability created by the trees, working in conjunction with the perimeter expansion joint, ensures that virtually
no gravity loads and no lateral loads reach the walls of the historic stone structures surrounding the courtyard.
Perhaps the greatest benefit of the atrium design is the inside-outside feel. The design of the main floor left an opening around the
perimeter to allow sunlight to reach the lower level, giving it the appearance of a floating surface. At the lower level, flexible space
was designed to accommodate a wider variety of meeting needs, from individual and small groups to larger, media-driven
presentations and social gatherings.
original courtyard
Lower Commons