The Council of Independent Colleges: Historic Campus Architecture Project

Alumni Hall

Click on image titles for larger views.

Institution Name: Ithaca College
Original/Historic Place Name: Alumni Hall
Location on Campus: Alumni Hall
Date(s) of Construction:

1989	original construction HOLT Architects

Designer: HOLT Architects (Ithaca, NY)
Type of Place: Individual building
Style: Postmodern (Glossary)
Significance: architecture
Narrative: see below
References: see below

Materials:

Foundation: concrete

Walls: brick and wood frame

Roof: metal, rubber, shingles

Function:

ca. 1989-present (2006)

alumni center

Narrative:
What is distinctive about Alumni Hall is the manner in which it takes advantage of the College's rolling terrain and is also linked to an earlier, vernacular farmhouse that remains from the nineteenth century. The postmodern, high-pitched roofs of Alumni Hall mimic the Gothic gables of the earlier building while the split-level massing of the structure fits easily into its sloping site. On the main story of Alumni Hall, the central and southern sections provide bright, open spaces for administrative activities. The building helps provide a link between the site's agrarian past and academic present.

References:

Harcourt, John B. The Ithaca College Story. Ithaca, NY: Ithaca College, 1983.

Hodne, Scott. The History of Ithaca College. Ithaca, NY: Ithaca College, 1991.

Sasaki Associates Inc. Ithaca College Master Plan Report. [Watertown, MA: Sasaki Associates Inc.], 2002.