Student Center | Daytona State College
Daytona Beach, Florida
74,000 SF | student commons | dining commons | group study rooms | 350-seat event center | coffee shop | e-gaming center | student organization offices | writing center | career services | classrooms | university library
Like a coral stone outcropping rising from the shoreline, the 74,000-square-foot L. Gale Lemerand Student Center at Daytona State College establishes an iconic presence to the campus along the main arterial road connecting the fames Daytona beachfront with the rest of Florida. Curving stone and bronze walls face the road and embrace the visitor like two outreached arms forming a landscaped welcome lawn at the campus entry. Visitors approach the campus through the Center’s monumental 84-foot-tall bronze entryway that bisects the two gently curving wings—one, cantilevered and with a bronze, peated solar screen shading fenestration behind and the other, a solid volume with an undulating array of cast stone panels—which, together with the entry, present a public face of the College that embraces the famed International Speedway Boulevard.
The Lemerand Student Center offers students places to study, meet friends, eat, and relax, in a building organized around a three-story commons that serves as the living room for the campus and overlooks the campus quadrangle. A double-height, 350-seat event center for official functions, community events, and movie nights flank the commons along with conference, dining, and study rooms. The second floor accommodates student government offices, student clubs, and career services offices, along with classrooms. A large diamond-shaped skylight at the top of the building spills light onto the third-floor library and writing center. The student center is designed as a high performance two Green Globe facility. Custom bronze perforated solar screens are veiled over large, glazed areas of the south and west facades to limit heat gain and glare while allowed views outward. Additionally, a ventilated bronze rain screen reduces heat gain in the harsh Florida sun.