UNIVERSITY ALUMNI CENTER

Client	FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY
Location	TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA
Completion	2004
Area	26,500 SQUARE FEET
Contractor	LLT BUILDING CORPORATION

The project includes renovation of a 6,500 square foot (sf) residential structure dating from the 1880s and construction of a new 20,000 s.f. mixed use occupancy building consisting of 10,000 s.f. of hospitality space and 10,000 s.f. of administrative space housing the Florida State University Alumni Association. Master planning of the site evolved around the creation of an entertainment courtyard featuring two mature live oaks. The two buildings are unified by this courtyard sited on the crest of a hill overlooking the university. Program components include a 4,500 s.f. Grand Ballroom, 1,000 s.f. Conference Room, catering kitchen, administrative offices and 4,000 s.f. shell space. The hospitality spaces were designed as an upscale welcoming environment to host events for returning alumni and visiting dignitaries complete with rich wood wainscot, arched wood trusses and generous glazing. Critical to the success of the Grand Ballroom was the development of a strong relationship to the courtyard space that allows for social gatherings to flow seamlessly from interior to exterior. The design vocabulary of the building is strongly influenced by the University's design requirement that buildings evoke a 'Jacobean Gothic' style similar to that established in the historic district of the campus.