West Shore Community College

Several of the student services components (library, advising, testing and tutoring, women’s resource center, bookstore, student lounge, and café) were all undersized for current student demands and were scattered across campus. This made it inconvenient and difficult to access in succession and was especially confusing for new and prospective students.

To address these issues and uphold the college mission with regard to student success and community service, the 2004 West Shore Community College Facility Master Plan identified a new 38,000 SF Student Learning Center as the top priority. The new building houses the above functions and serves as a new “front door” of the campus. All services have been effectively integrated under one roof creating ease of accessibility and a centerpiece of student activity.

The new library, which serves as the heart of the Student Learning Center and the WSCC campus, was previously underutilized, outdated, and lacked connectivity to other campus amenities. It now boasts state-of-the-art technology and provides flexibility to accommodate future changes. Natural daylight floods the space and visually provides connectedness to the rest of campus.

A sweeping transparent curved facade in the atrium embraces the center of the campus and also provides connectivity to adjacent buildings and the natural landscape. An interactive and centralized student commons area emphasizes the student-centeredness of this new building. The building achieved LEED Silver certification.