Alumni Hall at Vanderbilt University

Alumni Hall on Vanderbilt’s Old Campus was built as a memorial to honor the WWI alumnae that served. It was initially conceived in 1926 as VU’s first student union, with elegant event spaces lit through lead-camed windows, and separate wings for ‘boysj and girls’ activities such as magazine reading rooms and billiard parlors.

Eighty six years later the building remained largely unchanged, and had lost its polish, purpose and vigor. A transformational program including an acoustic lounge, cafe, catered event/study venue, executive seminar classroom, and an exercise studio reinvigorated this white elephant into a place brimming with a renewed sense of purpose. This satellite campus commons was reborn with a ‘small plates’ program concept - small program tastes - to bring students, staff, and administrators together for connection.

The historic character of the building was preserved and improved: cathedral glass steel windows were restored and made energy-efficient and fireplaces converted to flueless gas inserts. Adding modern interior focal points like a monumental cable-supported stair feature and a backlit wall at the cafe gave students modern spaces in the Neoclassical Tudor envelope.

Infrastructural updates include LED lighting and daylight harvesting systems, high performance VRV mechanical systems, and modern detailing to take the building into the next 100 years.

completed with Bruner/Cott