Facing rising student demand for its arts programs, Tidewater Community College created a new Visual Arts and Design Center to house its graphic arts, videography, photography and graphic design programs. The Center, located near the school’s existing campus in downtown Norfolk, provides students with state-of-the-art instruction and studio spaces while also announcing TCC’s art presence and course variety to passersby.

The Center is located at street level, under a high-rise condominium community known as Harbor Heights, in a space that previously housed a large grocery store. With large windows fronting Norfolk’s busy Boush Street, the Center makes a significant connection to the city’s nearby NEON arts district, as well as the Chrysler Museum of Art and its new Perry Glass Studio expansion. TCC’s presence on the first floor Harbor Heights building also activates the streetscape and provides TCC students with a greater connection to the city.

Students and visitors to the Center are greeted by a reception area in a double-height lobby, which also features an exhibition gallery space for work by visiting artists and pieces from the school’s permanent collection, as well as a student gallery and a multi-purpose space that can serve as an extra gallery and event space. The 38,180-square-foot Center also has 14 classrooms to accommodate drawing, painting, ceramics, sculpture, printmaking and glass fusing, among other offerings. A shared computer lab is available to any TCC student, no matter their major.

Designers embraced the exposed concrete columns, using large expanses of glass to separate public spaces while softening the space’s industrial edge with light wood accents for warmth. Walls are primarily neutral as a blank canvas for art work, with exposed ceilings painted with a dark blue-grey inspired by the school’s official colors.

Several classrooms will feature tunable white lights, which can be used as a teaching tool to show effects of lighting temperature on color. Flooring is a mixture of the existing sealed, unpolished concrete, decorative vinyl tile, and carpet tile in lounge furniture areas and offices. A bonus for the school’s facilities department is the building’s loading dock and shop area, where maintenance staff can work on campus projects.

Design: Work Program Architects
Design Team: Erin Agdinaoay, Alison Allred, Corrie Cohen
Contractor: SB Ballard Construction Company
MEP & Electrical Engineer: Pace Collaborative
Structural Engineer: Lynch Mykins
Furniture Dealer: Virginia Correctional Enterprises
Photography: Yuzhu Zheng