Augusta State University's Student Activity Center
The Student Activity Center was designed for the 28 acre campus of Augusta State University in Augusta, GA. It includes a new 50,000 sf 2-story student center, 3 acre site development, walks, drives, and service yard that together became the center of campus and student living space.
According to Shelby O. Mitchell in her article “A Student of Tradition” in the MC March Showcase:
"During recent construction at Augusta State University (ASU) in Augusta, Ga., the university presented its design team with a challenge: create a new activities center with all the technology andmodern amenities students want, but make it fit seamlessly with the historic character of the campus. Not exactly an easy feat, considering some of the university’s buildings were originally part of a federal arsenal, built in 1827. "
"The team’s finished product was the $11.1 million Jaguar Student Activities Center (JSAC), a 50,000 square foot structure named for the school’s mascot. The building was one of the last steps in ASU’s 10-year, $95 million building plan to build new educational facilities, student dorms, and renovate historic buildings. It was also a long-awaited replacement for the previous student center, which was off the beaten path and did not attract many visitors. In order to fit the desired construction schedule, space constraints, and work around other construction activities in the area, the design team decided to join the JSAC with the campus’existing Reese Library. Naturally, the new addition would also need to compliment the more modern library building, constructed in 1976."
"Because the style of the library and the new student center were very different, it was important to create continuity with similar building materials. “All of the historic arsenal buildings on campus are brick with stone lintels,” explains Rob Mauldin, AIA, vice president of 2KM Architects, Inc. “We wanted to maintain a consistent context of materials, to help the modern building blend and become an integral part of the campus."
"In fact, the students had made the building their home even before the ribbon cutting ceremony. This may have been due, in part, to their involvement with its design. Student representatives attended every design meeting, and gave valuable input that impacted the building’s design. The process was instrumental in creating a sense of ownership with the center’s main “clients,” whose dues ($45 per student each semester, over the next 30 years) are funding the project. Although the JSAC received the University System of Georgia’s 2006 Real Estate & Public/Private Ventures Award, project team members agree that the student reaction has been their true measure of success."