Page 14 - spaces4learning, Spring 2023

spaces4learning CAMPUS DESIGN
DRURY UNIVERSITY’S ENTERPRISE CENTER CREATED AS CAMPUS AND COMMUNITY HUB By John R. Kirk
THE ENTERPRISE CENTER AT DRURY UNIVERSITY, its first new building—and first major academic building— to be built in over 20 years, is a tripartite composition that contributes magnificently to its setting, to the fabric of the university, and to the fabric of the city of Springfield, Mo.
Conceived as a hub for the university and the community at large in which it resides, the Enterprise Center is appropriately positioned at the prominent intersection of Drury Lane and Central Street, Drury Lane being the literal and figurative spine of the university and Central Street an important historic street in Springfield that crosses through the university.
The intersection of Drury Lane and Central Street—the university’s cardo e decumanus, or primary north-south and east- west axes—is also a natural topographic crest, a high point for miles around. The building unfolds
PHOTOS COURTESY OF COOPER ROBERTSON
facades. The roofscape, with its mansards, gables, dormers, and other accentuating features, strikes a stunning figure on the skyline rivaling any in the region.
Punctuating all this is the entry tower that marks the intersection of Drury Lane and
to the eye from many directions at great distances, revealing itself as a monument to the idea of interdisciplinary, collaborative, project-based learning.
IT IS ELEGANT, DIGNIFIED, AND FRESH. IT IS AT ONCE NEW AND OLD; THAT IS TO SAY, IT IS TIMELESS. MOST IMPORTANTLY, IT FITS.’
Central Street and rises 62 feet, with a pyramidal, ziggurat roof capped by a finial to become the tallest academic building on Drury’s campus in its 150-year history.
The entry tower is now the campus’ campanile, rotated slightly less than 10 degrees to orient itself to Drury’s Burnham Circle to the north, the historic heart of the
The new structure will house
Drury’s Breech School of Business
Administration, Compass Center,
international affairs offices,
political science, mathematics, and
computer science programs, as well as student success services, conferencing, food and beverage services, and social spaces. Most of its interior volumes are dedicated to areas for collaboration: students with other students; students with faculty; faculty with faculty; and local business leaders and community groups with Drury students, faculty, and staff.
campus, thereby connecting old and new.
Curtain walls with cast stone surrounds are windows to the
world in two of the building’s three primary spaces: the three- story atrium in the main body of the building, and the ballroom that is the primary volume in the executive conference center,
The exterior architectural expression is cleverly contextual, with a richness of subtle detailing and materiality, including a dual palette of brick at the rusticated base where there’s a cream-colored brick with a blonde mortar in a Flemish bond pattern. Above, a darker, reddish brick is in a running bond pattern with a corbeled brick cornice, cast stone lintels, and sills.
It is elegant, dignified, and fresh. It is at once new and old; that is to say, it is timeless. Most importantly, it “fits.” It couldn’t be any other building in any other setting. In this way it is deeply rooted and unique, adhering to the “rules of place,” or the genus loci.
The massing and fenestration are further orchestrated by an array of other architectural elements and details, for example, the rhythm of rain leaders that help frame the carefully composed
14 SPRING 2023 | spaces4learning.com