Saint Peter's University: MacMahon Student Center

  • 12/01/14
Saint Peter's University

PHOTOS © KAT NANIA/SHEPLEY BULFINCH and ROBFAULKNER.COM

Since opening its doors last year, the Thomas MacMahon Student Center has become a defining landmark for Saint Peter’s University in the dense urban fabric of Jersey City, NJ.

Designed by Shepley Bulfinch, the sixstory, 87,800-square-foot building is the first-ever student center in the school’s 140-year history and the first major construction project on the campus since 1974. In addition to providing a social crossroads for the university’s 3,100 residential and commuter students, the Center has put Saint Peter’s at the center of Jersey City’s civic life, hosting community events from mayoral debates to county science fair honor award ceremonies.

The MacMahon Center is an important element in the school’s plans to position itself competitively. The six-story Center, which spans the east side of the Jersey City campus, is also envisioned as a catalyst for the revitalization of nearby McGinley Square, building redevelopment momentum sparked by the cluster of financial institutions that now populate a stretch of Jersey City along the Hudson known as “Wall Street West.”

The Center unites under one roof activities that were previously scattered around the school’s 25-acre campus. A ground-floor living room features a mix of seating and a working fireplace, as well as a home for the Jesuit school’s campus ministry. On the floors above, the building provides dining facilities, a fitness room and game area, and student activity rooms. The sixth-floor Duncan Family Sky Room hosts special events for the university and the community, with its breathtaking views of the skyline of lower Manhattan and a seating capacity of 430.

The Center integrates a number of sustainable strategies in its design, including the use of recycled materials for many components, including the use of 50-percent recycled aluminum on the exterior curtain wall. More than 90 percent of the project’s construction waste was recycled.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • School Construction Projects Boom as Education Systems Address Aging Facilities and Growth

    Construction opportunities are almost always abundant, but currently there are more than usual construction projects being launched for public school campuses. Common objectives include major renovation or expansion of aging facilities, total replacement of inefficient classrooms, upgrades to lighting, technology, and security equipment, and adding new sports and cultural facilities.

  • University of West Florida Opens New Laboratory Facility

    The University of West Florida recently announced that renovation work is complete on a new lab building for its campus in Pensacola, Fla., according to university news. Building 80 will serve as the home to the university’s civil engineering program and the Tyler Chase Norwood Construction Management Program.

  • Los Angeles City College Breaks Ground on New Administration, Workforce Building

    Los Angeles City College (LACC) in Los Angeles, Calif., recently broke ground on a new $72-million administrative facility, according to a news release. The Cesar Chavez Administration and Workforce Building will stand four stories, cover 67,230 square feet, and play home to a wide variety of the school’s educational and administrative services.