E.L.Turbon Student Center

Alamo Colleges District

The design incorporates renovation of a 1950’s former performing arts building together with new construction to create a vibrant new learn-study-play facility that enhances the student experience by keeping students engaged on campus. The project took an underutilized and uninspiring space and created a hub of activity that has energized the campus and the neighboring community, while honoring the rich history of both.

Client Alamo Colleges District
Category Higher Education
Services Planning, Programming, Architectural Design, Interior Design, FF&E Selection, Contract Administration
Awards TASA/TASB Design Awards: Value
Project Team

Jazmine Byrom
Anthony Plascencia

A revitalization project in the heart of the campus

The scope of work for the renovation and addition included extensive demolition of the original one-story 9,000 SF building so that only the existing concrete columns and roof steel framing would remain. The new two-story addition seamlessly connects to the existing structure and includes:

a gaming area
6-lane bowling alley
bookstore
multipurpose room with exterior balcony area
administrative offices
student organization offices
meeting rooms
video projection rooms
café
lounge and gaming areas
outdoor seating areas
outdoor amphitheater

The E.L. Turbon Student Center at St. Philip’s College was underutilized, austere, and had little connection to the rest of the campus.

Over its 124-year history, St. Philip’s College has served as a beacon of education and a point of pride for San Antonio’s east side community.

Built in 1953 and renovated in 1986, the original Turbon Center was windowless, compartmentalized, and uninviting. The goal for this project was to engage the student body with a renewed sense of place and ownership. The planning process for the renovations was interactive and involved district managers, staff, faculty, and student body representatives. This collaboration informed the project design to transform the space into a core/hub for the college.

Today’s turbon center is a vibrant, high-traffic building used by students, faculty, staff, and the neighboring community.

With the school’s colors and mascot in mind, the overall palette is shades of blue, with pops of orange. The active first floor includes the bowling alley, and gaming, ping-pong, and pool areas. It also houses a post office, café, and administration offices. Because of the building’s central location, it serves as a pedestrian cut-through, with most students and faculty now walking through the building to get from one end of campus to the other.

The second floor has “quieter” spaces for student association offices, and conference, multipurpose, and video-projection rooms.

To preserve the history of the student center, we salvaged the original stage floors and incorporated them into feature niches throughout the building.