It has been awesome having the opportunity to collaborate with Ford, Powell & Carson the past couple of years. Last autumn I captured a recent major academic project at Northeast Lakeview College, Paluxy Hall in Universal City, Texas – a STEM academic research and classroom building. Turner Construction was the general contractor and IMEG were engineers. I also captured furniture installation for Alfred Williams, and therefore had quite the variety of tasks to complete!
The building footprint is composed of three different masses and two connectors – the largest comprised of a) 2-story large classroom/multi-function space, clad with dark masonry and b) 3-story small classroom/faculty offices clad with red brick and metal panels, stitched together by a grand entry with grand staircase visible outside. The third mass c) has laboratories, study areas, and a food service.
Love how the building and outdoor sculpture installation takes on the colors of sunset.
The grand stairwell navigates between the two main masses of building program. You can see a peek of color from the hall beyond.
Wood paneling dramatically cantilevers over the front entrance, falls to the first level where it forms a veranda, provides shelter to walk underneath.
Benches sit in the space between the building and veranda. Beyond is the corridor that serves the laboratory spaces.
Lights suspend vertically in the well-hole of the grand staircase, which is kept at a minimum with exposed concrete. The wood panels of the cantilever can be seen beyond.
The three-story mass contains a two-story corridor bordered by classrooms and study areas on both sides.
Just as classroom activity can be observed from the corridors, the same can be observed from classroom to corridor beyond.
Clerestory windows were designed where floor-to-ceiling wasn’t practical, allowing classroom spaces to not feel so closed-in.
The corridor provides direct access to semi-private study nooks. The kiosks with benches inside are soundproof.
Turning the corridor is a centrally located, glass-encased tutorial room. There is a food service with tables and benches to gather, eat, and study.
The wood slats in the ceiling above dive towards the west of the building where there are more seating areas inside and out.
Outside are more seats and terraced landscape.
Back inside is a variety of classroom types, including organic chemistry,
and two-story lecture halls.
These classrooms are accessed down a 2-story corridor with exposed 3-story stair beyond.
Going up those stairs leads to a large multipurpose room that can be partitioned into three separate spaces. A carefully curated view follows an axis to the clock tower on campus.
The multipurpose space is bordered on two sides by a sweeping balcony with cantilevered metal roof.
Below are a series of sheltered benches that allow students to duck the sun and still experience the outdoors. Landscaped plants and stone nestle between.
On the opposite side of the multipurpose room are the faculty offices with an intermediate space of meeting rooms and sitting areas along the way.
The faculty offices have private offices, cubicle spaces and a break room.
Back outside is the drama of the cantilevered balcony and roof that borders the multipurpose space and smaller meeting rooms.
Overall was a 3-day shoot, was a real pleasure shooting for all of the parties involved from architecture to construction to interior furnishings!
