TCC Norfolk Student Center

This 57,000 square foot building houses the Tidewater Community College Norfolk Campus Student Center. This 5 story tall facility with a glassed façade, includes a kitchen and dining area, a cafe for students and the public, student organization meeting and work areas, fitness and multipurpose physical activity space, and a game room. The center also will offer a “”child-minding”” area, meant for short periods for kids from infants to age 12. The student center also will have study rooms and lounges. The new Student Services Center at Tidewater Community College’s downtown Norfolk campus innovatively develops a constricted urban site while preserving an existing pedestrian plaza and gardens. Brick and precast stone cladding and traditional fenestration on the building’s east and west ends complement the surrounding urban fabric, while a swooping, transparent south façade engages the plaza and showcases the hub of student activity concentrated at the building’s center. Flow-through planters containing native species treat storm water runoff while showcasing the natural beauty of regional ecosystems.

The Norfolk Student Center is located in the existing urban plaza, adjacent to the Martin Building and across from the MacArthur Mall at 300 Granby Street in downtown Norfolk. Site construction work included utility relocations and infrastructure improvements including grading, sidewalks and urban context landscaping. All construction activities occurred within a dynamic urban pedestrian and vehicular corridor.