TAGGART Architects

Arkansas State University, in collaboration with Centennial Bank, has developed an A-State Student Welcome Center and a Centennial Bank Branch in the heart of the energetic A-State Campus. The facility is at the terminus of the main entry drive into campus and is adjacent to the student union and dining hall and is one of the first buildings one experiences upon entering the ASU campus. Within the building there is a large greeting lobby with lounge furniture for future students and their parents to take a break from the grueling orientation pace. Refreshments as well as public restrooms are also available. Adjacent to the lobby, through three pivoting wolf head logo walls, is a state-of-the-art video presentation room to introduce prospective students to all that A-State has to offer. Also, within the sun-filled lobby is a full-service interactive branch bank with an ATM to serve student financial needs 24 hours a day.

The energy of the Welcome Center building comes from its location at the intersection of four primary pedestrian paths and the primary campus vehicular circulation path. These pathways are the primary influence on its dynamic composition. The lobby is oriented to the main vehicular circulation access for the campus. This building orientation, and the all-glass widow wall, acts as a lantern at night to serve as a “front door” to the campus. The exterior student plaza is elevated from the pedestrian pathways providing an overlook to the students’ busy walkways and to the campus beyond. The “ASU Red” is a backdrop to the student plaza where the ASU Wolf Head and A-State branding icons have been strategically located to provide photo opportunities for prospective students and their families as well as visiting alumni. Two busy primary pedestrian paths shape the radiused auditoriums form and reflects the dynamic flow of the students around campus. The building is formed by of the energy of the students themselves and will become a logo for the entire campus.