The 74,000-square-foot L. Gale Lemerand student center at Daytona State College establishes an iconic presence to the campus along International Speedway Boulevard connecting its famed beachfront with the rest of Florida.

Solving a campus planning dilemma of ubiquitous parking lots and background buildings facing the public way, an organically curving stone and bronze wall now faces the boulevard, embraces visitors like two outreached arms creating a landscaped welcome lawn and defining a clear point of campus entry.

Rising from the center of the gently curving wall is an iconic bronze portal framing the opening to the student center and giving passage to the campus quadrangle beyond. Internally a three-story commons overlooks the quadrangle and serves as the campus living room. Dining, a coffee shop, a gaming lounge, and group study rooms ring the student center commons.

An amphitheater on the second and third floors cantilevers into the commons and looks out onto the campus quadrangle. The amphitheater provides a theatrical experience giving students the ability to see and be seen, thereby reinforcing a sense of community, and belonging.

The center is sustainably designed as a high-performance Green Globe-certified facility. Custom bronze perforated solar screens are veiled over large, glazed areas on the south and west facades to limit heat gain and glare while allowing views outward. A ventilated bronze rain screen at the portal tower reduces heat gain in the harsh Florida sun.