Vanderbilt University’s Alumni Hall is a 1925 Tudor Revival assembly building that was designed and constructed as a Memorial to students and faculty who lost their lives in World War I. Elaborate brick and limestone elevations are supported on a reinforced concrete frame; the windows are leaded glass in steel casement sashes; and the roofs are standing seam copper.
Bruner/Cott’s project team helped develop a program to take advantage of the central location of this small building with its detailed rooms and finishes. Exterior additions on the rear façade provide new mechanical, life safety and accessibility improvements. The building is small, and the introduction of new mechanical systems where historic interiors are so sensitive to alteration was one of the main design challenges.
The LEED Gold Alumni Hall, the university’s original student union, now supports a wide range of activities — such as tutoring, catered dining, meetings, studying and socializing — while maintaining the integrity of the building’s historic architecture. Expanded event terraces, an executive classroom, music lounge, exercise room, writing center, faculty office suite and a boutique café are part of the new program.
2015 Nashville Metropolitan Historical Commission | Preservation Award
2014 American School & University | Outstanding Design Award, Renovation/Modernization
2014 Association of College Unions International | Facility Design of Excellence Award
2014 Building Design & Construction | Bronze Award for Reconstruction
2013 Associated Builders & Contractors | Excellence in Construction – Honor Award
COMPLETED
2013
SIZE
30,000 sf
COST (2013)
$11.5 million