The Student Center project at UDC’s Van Ness Campus was a collaboration between Cannon Design as Architect of Record and MMD as Associate Architect. The building is an iconic structure on the District of Columbia’s flagship campus. The 83,000 sq. ft., $63 million building integrates LEED elements to be sensitive to its urban context and environment.

The UDC student center acts as a gateway to the Campus. Along Connecticut Avenue, a new public square and a clock tower mark the new building. The university building serves as a model for sustainability and green practices for not only the students and visitors who utilize the center but also for the community. The Student Center has animated the public realm at ground level through various student activities, while creating a strong visual, functional, and symbolic connection between the campus core and Connecticut Avenue.

The student center has become a hub of student activity and provides resources for the local community. It contains a mix of uses, including a welcome center, a ballroom, space for student government and activity offices, assembly space for university programs, and spaces for student leisure and socializing. It also contains restaurants intended to cater to the planned mix of residential and commuter, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as faculty, staff, and visitors. With the new design, the university now has the opportunity to re-brand itself both physically and metaphorically as a 21st century institution of higher learning.