St. Louis, Missouri
Both Loretto and Maria Halls were originally residence halls. Loretto Hall was converted to university administrative office space and Maria Hall was renovated as a 106 bed residence hall. It needed to be able to compare in character with the newly constructed residence halls on campus. The ground floor of the complex was renovated to accommodate student services and campus circulation. Exterior spaces were created for the cafe/dining area and for the courtyards formed by the historic structures. The approach was to create a modern, reductive design that would be the base and connective context for the historic buildings. It is modest in character, focusing on creating dynamic perspectives of the historic buildings and features.
Handicapped accessibility was necessary for all project areas. HKW created an accessibility design across the project site that completely eliminated the need for handicapped accessible ramps, guardrails and handrails. The design uses sloped walks that are much more comfortable to maneuver, have a more open character, are more universal in their function, and are less costly to construct.
