Architects breath new lease of life into decomissioned Long Island courthouse.A decommissioned federal courthouse in Hempstead, Long Island, has received a new lease on life courtesy of New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of City's TEK See TeX. Architects. The unusual circular structure, a 1960's era relic, now houses Hofstra University's new School of Education and Allied Human Services. With 65,000 s/f of useable space, the former federal building provided ample room for offices, classrooms, and two large computer labs. Hofstra's new Institute for Development in the Advanced Sciences (IDEAS) program has also taken up residence, providing centers for counseling and behavioral study. The building's unorthodox circular layout provided many design challenges for TEK Architects' principal Charles Thanhauser: "Around the office we got to calling it The Death Star: It was laid out in such a way that you could circle around forever with no sense of orientation -pretty dismal." Thanhauser and company built radial hallways from the existing windows into the interior corridors, bringing much-needed natural light to the building's inner core, and went so far as to color code Noun 1. color code - system using colors to designate classifications code - a coding system used for transmitting messages requiring brevity or secrecy sectors for easier navigation. Each layer of the concentrically con·cen·tric also con·cen·tri·cal adj. Having a common center. [Middle English concentrik, from Medieval Latin concentricus : Latin com-, com- + Latin planned interior is further marked by "conversation areas", which encourage students and faculty to interact. Budget limitations made redesigning the entire facade impossible, so TEK concentrated their resources on creating a new enlarged lobby entryway envisioned as a striking, double-height hall, anchored by an integrated bank of touch screen monitors and LCD displays known as the Media Wall. "The Media Wall is a completely interactive design element -touch screens will give students access to class schedules, campus news and other information," said Thanhauser. The marriage of state-of-the-art technology and cutting-edge design announces in no uncertain terms that this facility is unique. TEK's ability to endow en·dow tr.v. en·dowed, en·dow·ing, en·dows 1. To provide with property, income, or a source of income. 2. a. a stagnant stagnant /stag·nant/ (stag´nant) 1. motionless; not flowing or moving. 2. inactive; not developing or progressing. space with the excitement of the new has won them several major commissions from Hofstra, including a ground-up 50,000 s/f performing arts center A performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is a multi-use performance space that can be adapted for use by various types of the performing arts, including dance, music and theatre. ; slated to begin construction in the fall. The Principals of TEK have been on _ the vanguard of forward thinking design for more than two decades, providing architectural services to a diverse client base. |
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