The newly renovated grand concourse at Glen Oaks Community Colleges has been selected as a 2020 winner in the annual Education Design Showcase. The project is being featured in the November/December 2020 issue of Spaces4Learning magazine.
“We are excited about our concourse being selected as a 2020 Honorable Mention winner,” said Dr. David Devier, Glen Oaks president. “The concourse is our ‘student union,’ where students gather for dining and many other activities. We were able to transform the 50-year-old 1960’s brutalist architecture into an inviting, contemporary student and community gathering space.”
Arkos Design, of Mishawaka, Ind., was the architect and Frederick Construction, of Vicksburg, Mich., was the general contractor. The project was completed in April, 2019.
“For those who haven’t seen it, the bare concrete walls have been replaced with anodized aluminum, and plaster walls,” said Devier. “Sound-absorbing wave panels cover the central high bay ceiling with accent lighting and the grand staircase incorporates authentic plaster veneer and new wooden handrails.”
Glen Oaks was one of 13 design projects featured among both higher ed and K-12 projects. The 2020 Higher Education Grand Prize was awarded to the James Lehr Kennedy Engineering Building at Ohio Northern University. Florida Ruffin Ridley School of Brookline Public Schools in Massachusetts received the 2020 K-12 Grand Prize.
Education Design Showcase was established in 1999 to share innovative and practical solutions in planning, design, and construction. The goal of the program is to share ideas that help achieve the best possible learning environments and to recognize the firms that have made these ideas a reality.