Natural daylight is a critical component to any building – especially a building set on one of the oldest university campuses in Baltimore, MD. Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall at Morgan State University is a multi-award-winning building that has been serving both students and staff since its opening in 2020. As one of the largest post-secondary education providers in Maryland, the university campus had a need for an updated student services center. The university was clear in their intent to create an inviting and engaging space that that would contribute to the overall wellbeing of their students, faculty and staff. The owner, Morgan State University had a progressive people-oriented worldview, and Teeple Architects in association with GWWO Architects were there with a creative vision that would make it all come together.
“In this space a lot of the departments work together and to facilitate this, many of the offices were located on the bottom two floors. This building has big floor plates, and it was important to provide access to natural daylight to improve workplace wellness” says Stephen Teeple, Founding Principal of Teeple Architects. Teeple Architects designed the space with a clerestory skylight topping a five-storey atrium, to capture daylight and distribute it throughout the building.
When sourcing a daylighting option, Teeple Architects knew the Tyler Hall needed a solution that could diffuse daylight uniformly and drive it down deep into the atrium. Both Teeple Architects and partner firm GWWO Architects had successfully used Solera on previous projects, and they knew the clerestory skylight design was an ideal application for Solera engineered daylight.
The 141,000 square foot, five-storey hall uses a unique curvature in its shape to accentuate the distinct features of this space including the ‘wings’ of the building that serve the university’s administrative needs. In this application, “Solera was the right product because of the owner’s energy and daylighting goals which included LEED Gold” says Teeple. The curvature and light colors in the space helps to deepen and reflect the impact of natural daylight captured by Solera.
The building includes offices for university administration, financial services, human resources and registration, and the central atrium and lounge. “The five storyfive-storey atrium with beautiful natural daylight all the way to the ground floor forms an inviting social space” explains Teeple.
The Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall has been widely recognized for its award-winning design on a local and national level. “It has everything students need to start their schooling and plays a huge role in deepening their engagement into their education” says Teeple.
The LEED Gold Certified Calvin & Tina Tyler Hall cost $69 million to build, according to the school, and is named after alumnus Calvin Tyler and his wife Tina, who gifted the school with $20 million this February—the largest single sum ever donated to an historically black college or university.
Advanced Glazings is proud to have been included in helping Teeple Architects and GWWO Architects teams in creating another beautiful award- winning project. Congratulations to all partners involved! Watch this video on Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall by AIA Maryland: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJQUVfJFW2E
Watch the topping out ceremony of Calvin and Tina Tyler Hall here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lp4e5mSQGNw
Awards
2021 AIA Baltimore Grand Design Award
2021 AIA Baltimore Design Award
2021 AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Public Building of the Year
2021 AIA Maryland Excellence in Design Honor Award
2021 SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence Awards – Excellence in Architecture – New Building – Honor Award
2021 USGBC Maryland – Community Leader Project Award – Finalist
2021 Architizer A+Awards – Institutional – Higher Education & Research Facilities – Popular Choice Winner
2021 The Plan Awards – Education Shortlist – Finalist
2021 ASLA Maryland Honor Award (awarded to Floura Teeter)3
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