In 2016, I completed one of my first start-to-finish architecture projects working at Houser Walker Architecture. The project was a library renovation at Gordon State College, a small state school south of Atlanta, Georgia. The Hightower Library was built in 1974 and for the most part not renovated since that time. My office worked with the school to redesign their library space, turning it from a place for books to a place for students. We turned the dark and cloistered library to an academic learning space for the college students and faculty. Incorporating study rooms, collaborative rooms, divisible instructional spaces, the Hightower Library Renovation was designed with the end-user in mind.
My favorite part of the new building is the parametric wall feature on the grand stair wall. I designed for the space a perforated wood panel installation, using Python, Grasshopper, and Rhino to control the radii and positioning of the holes. The feature warms the central space while providing a unique monument for the College. I am quite proud in the design my firm was able to achieve, a learning space that helps educate young minds at Gordon College.