- July 10, 2016
Daytona State College breaks ground on Student Center Gateway Project
Daytona State College has broken ground on a new Student Center and Work Force Transition Building. Set at the gateway to the campus along famed International Speedway Boulevard, the student center presents an eighty-five-foot-high portal giving the College a significant presence along the Boulevard that links Daytona Beach to the Daytona 500 International Speedway. The portal is both an entry to the student center and campus. Designed by ikon.5 architects, the student center sets a new campus standard for buildings by establishing a strong identity through the use of regional materials and sustainable features that recognize its climatic condition.
The building features an exterior façade made of regional coral stone and architectural bronze. An organically curving coral stone wall faces the International Speedway Boulevard and embraces the visitor like two outreached arms and forms a landscaped welcome lawn at the campus entry. Rising from the center of the embracing wall is a tower-like bronze portal framing the opening to the student center and giving passage to the main quadrangle and campus beyond. Custom bronze solar shades are vailed over the large portions glazing on the south and west facades to reject heat gain and glare while allowing views to the exterior.
Custom bronze solar shades, reclaimed storm water and rain gardens, photo optic lighting controls and a ventilated bronze rain screen facade assists in the student center achieving two Green Globes. Other sustainable strategies include the use of pre-and post-consumer recycled materials and high efficiency heating ventilation and air conditioning systems.
The four-story building contains educational and recreational spaces to enhance student life at Daytona State College. A 500 person events center, dining and servery, group study rooms, gaming and entertainment center, student clubs and organizations and the university library are organized around a four story open commons that looks out on to the campus quadrangle. A writing center and career services center support students transitioning into the work force.
The Daytona State College Student Center is scheduled to open December 2018.
About ikon.5 architects
Formed in 2003 and located in Princeton, NJ, ikon.5 architects is a broad-based practice in architecture, planning, landscape and interior design with a portfolio of projects serving higher education, non-profit organizations, cultural institutions and global business corporations. A national practice, the firm has been recognized with more than 70 international, national and state design awards for creative solutions that contribute to the enrichment of the built environment.