Sam & Martha Gibbons Alumni Center University of South Florida
Client: University of South Florida
Location: University of South Florida campus, Tampa, FL
Site: An existing building with mature oak trees on the site and parking facilities to the west.
Program Challenge: To provide a 26,000 SF building addition and renovate the existing 18,000 SF facility to enhance the public function spaces. The client wanted the building to have a “country club feel” making it a place returning alumni would feel at home.
Solution: Rowe Architects’ design solution for the USF Alumni Center expansion is organized around a courtyard space with an existing grand oak that serves as a new, welcoming entrance into the Alumni Center’s public spaces with direct access from the adjacent parking to the east. The existing building, had no spaces for banquets, receptions, greetings, or other public gatherings so a 3,000 square foot Multi-Purpose Space was provided to create a flexible multi-purpose area for public functions. Equipped with state-of-the-art audio visual systems, the space was sub-divided into three separate areas that can be reconfigured to accommodate dining for 192, theater seating for 285 or a classroom configuration seating 156.
An open-air veranda was added to the Multi-Purpose Space shading the east-facing glass walls, while extending and enhancing the public circulation and function of the building. An existing Club Room adjacent to the Multi-Purpose Space was given new life as a lounge where alumni donors and benefactors can be honored and the University’s history can be shared through photographs and memorabilia.
The programmed office space to house several departments is located in a new structure to the south, while the existing building public spaces were renovated to provide the campus community with much more functional and comfortable spaces for alumni and guests.