Located on Tulane University’s Gibson Quad, Mussafer Hall combines the adaptive reuse of a 1902 brick building with a modern limestone addition. The building is the home of the Center for Student Success, which brings together Tulane’s Academic Advising and Career Services programs.
The 1902 Dutch-Renaissance style building was originally constructed as the college’s first dormitory. The long, narrow building was divided by a double-loaded corridor. The glass-fronted offices and interview rooms lining the hall have windows looking outside to make the building feel open and bright. Two original stairwells have been repurposed as lightwells and, where possible, original brick interior walls were exposed and repointed.
Photo: Sara Essex Bradley.
The addition sits on a tight site between the 1902 building and a 100-year-old oak tree. The 7,600-sf building navigates its site with a series of shifting cantilevered volumes clad in stucco, limestone, and glass. Mussafer Hall’s triangular footprint is set back from the historic building and angled away from the tree to protect its roots and canopy.
Photo: Neil Alexander.
The central ground-floor space is designed to accommodate classes, lectures, meetings, receptions, seminars, and other events. Black millwork panels conceal storage areas, flex space, and marker boards.
Mussafer Hall is the second full building studioWTA has designed on Tulane’s campus and the firm’s 12th project for the School.
Photo: Sara Essex Bradley.
Photo: Sara Essex Bradley.
Photo: Sara Essex Bradley.
Photo: Sara Essex Bradley.
Photo: Neil Alexander.
Related Stories
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 45 Engineering Architecture Firms for 2022
Jacobs, AECOM, WSP, and Burns & McDonnell top the rankings of the nation's largest engineering architecture (EA) firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 80 Engineering Firms for 2022
Kimley-Horn, Tetra Tech, Langan, and NV5 head the rankings of the nation's largest engineering firms for nonresidential buildings and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 21, 2022
Top 110 Architecture/Engineering Firms for 2022
Stantec, HDR, HOK, and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture engineering (AE) firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 20, 2022
Top 180 Architecture Firms for 2022
Gensler, Perkins and Will, HKS, and Perkins Eastman top the rankings of the nation's largest architecture firms for nonresidential and multifamily buildings work, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 19, 2022
2022 Giants 400 Report: Tracking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms
Now 46 years running, Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report rankings the largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S. This year a record 519 AEC firms participated in BD+C's Giants 400 report. The final report includes more than 130 rankings across 25 building sectors and specialty categories.
Daylighting | Aug 18, 2022
Lisa Heschong on 'Thermal and Visual Delight in Architecture'
Lisa Heschong, FIES, discusses her books, "Thermal Delight in Architecture" and "Visual Delight in Architecture," with BD+C's Rob Cassidy.
AEC Tech | Aug 8, 2022
The technology balancing act
As our world reopens from COVID isolation, we are entering back into undefined territory – a form of hybrid existence.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 4, 2022
Faculty housing: A powerful recruitment tool for universities
Recruitment is a growing issue for employers located in areas with a diminishing inventory of affordable housing.
University Buildings | Jul 11, 2022
Student life design impacts campus wellness
As interior designers, we have the opportunity and responsibility to help students achieve deeper levels of engagement in their learning, social involvement, and personal growth on college campuses.
University Buildings | Jul 6, 2022
Wenzhou-Kean University opens a campus building that bridges China’s past and future
After pandemic-related stops and starts, Wenzhou-Kean University’s Ge Hekai Hall has finally begun to see full occupancy.
