Southern Illinois University Student Services Building, Carbondale, IL

The student center is an important hub for any university–it’s a resource for students as well as a refuge from the stresses of academic life and often a much-needed social community for newcomers. Designing a student center means creating a space that will take a warm and fuzzy center in the memory of many an alum, that will lift the spirits and bring the community together.

Architects White & Borgognoni took a striking approach to this idea of community and togetherness visually uniting the four levels in a 3-color elliptical terrazzo pattern. The flexibility of terrazzo allowed for some truly creative design, and the result is one that emphasizes a sense of togetherness in the echo of the pattern along each floor. Standing on the top level and looking down through the atrium you see a building united in symmetry, coming together in the focal point on the entry floor.

This idea of unity is very much at the heart of the new student center, which was built to house all of the key university services in one place, effectively bringing together all the resources in one welcoming space, and the design of the flooring is a really lovely nod to that idea.

The 100% marble aggregate terrazzo provides a few unique advantages: not only is it flexible enough to support a wide range of designs, but it is so durable that this very heart of the student center is sure to last through many a reunion, supporting fond memories and inspiring new ones for years to come.

It’s not just student centers that terrazzo’s got covered–there is a long a proud history of terrazzo in higher education, providing not just durable support but highly sustainable flooring in many a well-loved building.

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