Design for the Emory University Campus Life Center was inspired by a desire to create a ‘new heart’ at the crossroads of multiple university pathways. The strategy of subdividing the project’s large program into smaller ‘pavilions on a hill’ increases transparency, intensifies interaction, and creates a diversity of place-making at the core of the campus.

Recurring themes of ‘community building,’ ‘collaborative space,’ and ‘out of the box thinking’ informed the arrangement of pavilions and multi-story spaces, which are made permeable through the cultivation of circulation and areas between program elements including intimate, study spots and a large public piazza. A broad, generous canopy unifies the individual pavilions and provides a memorable nexus for student, staff and faculty engagement, collaboration and community building. The project addresses growing demands for student-oriented space; a desire for larger, more flexible and efficient dining, technology and infrastructure; and more room for student organizations, socializing and gathering.

The historic East DUC—the Alumni Memorial University Center and its marble façade—are preserved and integrated into the new design. The resulting architecture represents a true campus crossroads and destination for the entire Emory community.