Rock Valley College, Student Center Addition and Remodel

Rockford, Illinois

Firm

Bradley & Bradley

Client

Rock Valley College

Area

55,000 sq.ft.

Total Cost

$6,200,000

Completion Date

01/2005

As proposed in the newly developed master plan for the college, the Student Center is to serve as a “one-stop shop” for all student-related services including financial aid, registration, testing, continuing education and general campus information. Providing all of these services within the existing building envelope presented many challenges.
Work was staged in two phases. The first phase included extensive interior remodeling of the existing first and second floors. The original two-story dining hall was filled in with new floor construction to add 4,500 square feet of usable space to the second floor. Formerly underused balcony areas were incorporated into the interior, maximizing space usage and adding 4,400 square feet of programmable space to the building.
Activity within the building has increased significantly by grouping student-related services in one location. Admissions, records, financial aid, continuing education, student commission, general information and food service have been arranged to accommodate a logical flow between departments.
Functional flexibility is enhanced further through the use of demountable interior partitions and modular furniture systems. Interior lighting systems have been upgraded with the latest in direct and indirect technologies. Existing floor, wall and ceiling systems also were upgraded to maximize access to utilities and surface reflectivity.