Main Building Renovation
The impressive Main Building of Our Lady of the Lake University is exemplary of Chateauesque Revival architectural style, and with the adjoining university buildings is a premier historic landmark in the community and state. The 2008 fire that destroyed its roof and fourth floor required a massive relocation of all occupants pending repairs and restoration, as well as the rare opportunity to rethink and reprogram.
The historic and architectural character of the building is being thoughtfully addressed through a rigorous preservation program that will reconstruct the original metal tile roof (replaced before the fire), recover much of the original interior spatial qualities, restore water and smoke damaged finishes and assemblies, provide entirely new systems and bring the building into 21st century code compliance.
The project will restore the "main" to its original meaning: that the building should be the front door to the campus and daily touchstone for the entire university with strategically organized admissions, academic affairs,human resources, core departments, classrooms and food service to create a synergy of diverse activities.
Conventional study hall and computer lab spaces will be transformed as new computer lounges where learning is supported as a synthesis of academic and socializing activities. Located above the entrance lobby on the second and third floors, the computer lounges will have a variety of seating and spaces - including the front portico outdoor terrace and the cozy tower rooms.
A restored Main Building will be the heart of the campus and front door for visitors and guests, and is supported by landscaped parking along 24th Street. Expansion of new academic buildings is shown on the East Campus fronting 24th Street. Not shown is future student housing on the East Campus along the south bank of Elmendorf Lake. The lake is a significant component of the University's and West Side's cultural landscape and is deserving of ecological and recreational revitalization.
