Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Valparaiso University: Duesenberg Welcome Center

  • 07/01/16
Valparaiso University: Duesenberg Welcome Center

PHOTOS © DANA LEEK/MIRAGE STUDIO, LLC

The first college or university visit is critically important for students and families. This is guiding many institutions to create campus centers reflecting the identity that makes each unique. The goal for Indiana’s Valparaiso University was to create a new campus gateway and welcoming experience for prospective students, their families, alumni and guests.

The Valparaiso University Duesenberg Welcome Center designed by Shive-Hattery is located on a prominent meadow at the main campus entrance graced with panoramic views.

A gently sloping roof forms a connection with the surrounding campus Prairie Style architecture and frames a glimpse of the iconic Chapel of the Resurrection, which represents Valparaiso University’s foundation as a faith-based institution. The lobby is a transparent welcoming beacon of activity day and night, and is a first stop in this light-filled facility.

The 14,800-square-foot Welcome Center is home to the Office of Admission, as well as meeting and presentation spaces. Warm finishes provide settings for diverse activities from contemplation, to meetings and social gatherings, while providing a gallery backdrop for telling the story of the university.

Exhibits are displayed in the lobby and along the main street of the building, and include an interactive campus map, and a 60-foot-long timeline highlighting over 125 years of university history, including artifacts representing significant moments. When they return to campus, it has become the first stop for alumni who appreciate the Welcome Center as a place to reconnect with their alma mater.

A highlight of the facility is a 16-foottall by 31-foot-long lobby mosaic named “Lightfall,” inspired by the Valparaiso University motto “In luce tua, videmus lucem” (In your light, we see light).

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • St. John Fisher University

    Classroom Revitalization – Basil Hall Room 216

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. St. John Fisher University's Basil Hall Room 216 Classroom Revitalization has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of Spaces.

  • Myrtle Grove Elementary

    Phased Construction Keeps Students on Campus During Rebuild

    When Escambia County School District needed to replace most of Myrtle Grove Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., it had three distinct challenges: honor the school's legacy in the community, bring state-of-the-art learning environments to the county, and be seamlessly built on the same site as the active school campus.