view from southwest
(before) The original Health Science Center on the campus of Southeast Technical Institute (STI) was built in 1993. A significant design issue was how to respectfully expand a building with a red, pyramid shaped roof. The response was to add a series of new roof pyramids of varying sizes and slopes which inject light into significant areas of the interior.
view from northeast (before)
view from northeast
(before) This dual addition and partial renovation expands the facility to house new and growing STI programs as well as health education programs of USDSU, a collaboration of three South Dakota Universities: USD, SDSU and DSU.
south addition view
northeast addition view
Taking advantage of the building’s location along Interstate 29, the skylights are internally illuminated to act as beacons, presenting STI and USDSU to the community and region.
Before
After
Main Level (before)
The project program required that the portion of the addition to be occupied by USDSU be designed as a discrete element that could be separately platted, yet it needed an equal lobby presence.
USDSU
Lower Level (before)
USDSU
To knit together the interiors of the addition and the existing building, Koch Hazard Architects added a series of curved walls. The two level addition with a largely below grade lower level plugs into the circulation system of the existing building, then takes it in a new direction.
Entry (before)
Winding through the public spaces, the wall is (where possible) two stories tall creating a sense of connectedness between not only the two buildings, but the two levels as well.
The curved wall is punctured with openings of varied sizes designed in an abstracted pattern intended to represent a DNA strand emblematic of the buildings healthcare education use. Reacting to the dark corridors of the original building, the design injects as much light as feasible into the new circulation paths.
The exterior surfaces of the additions are monochromatic textured block matching one of the block types used on the original building. Where the addition and original building meet, they are attached with new, transitional glass enclosed stairs and entrances. Corridor ends are opened to exterior views to provide light and orientation.