St. Edward’s University invited Specht Harpman to renovate and add to an existing 1950’s-era building on the University’s main campus in South Austin, Texas. Doyle Hall houses classrooms, faculty offices, and a café. The addition exists as a bridge between Doyle and Premont Halls, creating an active, lively, tree-shaded courtyard out of an underused adjacent field.

The new addition is respectful of the existing adjacent structures, while introducing new elements. The new aluminum louver sunshade system lowers energy costs, increases comfort within the west-facing portion of the building, and creates a broad “sitting porch” adjacent to the courtyard. New surface materials are also deployed to create a varied yet complementary grouping of buildings. Along selected interior corridors, custom three-dimensional “wallpaper” highlights the patterns found in concrete block buildings throughout the campus. Specht Harpman Architects; AIA Award. symbologie. member Louise Harpman