Cypress Campus Student Center Alamo Community Colleges

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This community college student center is intended to be a “one-stop shop” for students and families as they receive academic advising, placement assessment, financial aid advising and career counseling. The 2-story building also includes a dining facility, bookstore, multi-purpose room, and wellness center. Public spaces and corridors are all oriented to the exterior grounds. As opposed to the typical double-loaded corridor with offices on either side, the wide corridors with ample glazing link these public spaces together. Students and their families can comfortably navigate the registration and advising process, while always visually connected to the picturesque campus.

The Welcome Desk and lobby anchor the building’s split-level design, which follows the natural topography of the site. Large clerestories and a central atrium bring natural light to interior offices and to other public gathering areas. A large angled roof overhang shades the primary outdoor area facing the campus lake. The interiors utilize a palette of durable materials and an exposed structural system, which become visible expressions of the design. The building’s exterior windows are protected by a variety of masonry, exposed steel structural and perforated metal shade devices.