RJI Master Plan
Prepared by Shaughnessy Fickel and Scott Architects
Site
Situated on a highly visible corner of the Francis Quadrangle, the new Reynolds Journalism Institute (RJI) occupies and links two existing historic buildings: Sociology Building and Walter Williams Hall with a new building (the "Link") placed between them. This new "Link" building forms the public entrance to RJI. It also is the very heart of the institute, containing the high technology RJI Futures Lab, a forum, atrium/exhibit hall and seminar rooms. This group of buildings frames a new centennial plaza symbolizing the Missouri School of Journalism as an institute within an institute. The semi-enclosed Centennial Plaza reinforces the plaza as a major pedestrian entrance connecting downtown Columbia and the Francis Quadrangle with a series of people places.
Building plans
The buildings provide locations for impromptu intellectual exchange between faculty, students and guests as they move throughout RJI. An elevator and central stair serve all levels of RJI. In the Journalism Library there is an internal elevator and stair, which allows for control and ease of circulation between each floor of the library. The design also adds a new stair within the southwest corner of the Sociology Building in order to achieve code-required egress and circulation to upper floors from the historic west entrance. In addition, the plan creates new main entries at both the east and west sides of the "Link" as well as smaller entry points near the coffee bar on the main level and at the lower level in the terraced gathering area. These additional entries further the notion of movement and interaction by promoting the use of outdoor people places from nearby interior functions.
Building sections
RJI's programmed spaces require varying ceiling heights to function properly. In order to provide an additional floor in the historic Sociology Building (three floors plus a basement verses two floors and a basement for the former layout), the interior load-bearing walls, existing floors and portions of the roof structure were removed. A new concrete frame structure was constructed within the remaining shell. The basement was lowered five feet. The new basement level is separated from the building's perimeter wall in order to leave the original footings undisturbed. This new basement floor level allows for the required floor-to-floor heights necessary for mechanical equipment and spatial effects as well as an additional floor. This results in a 15-ft floor-to-floor height in the basement, 13-ft floor-to-floor heights for the first and second levels and a 9.5-ft floor-to-ceiling height for the third floor.
Additionally, insertion of a new structure and floor in the Sociology Building requires separation of floors from the buildings exterior wall in order to allow the windows of the existing building to remain unencumbered. Holding the new floors away from the exterior walls also creates interior light wells that increase natural light within the building while creating spatial effects between floors.
Exterior design
Exterior of the "Link" takes its design cues from the pristine use of red brick, wonderfully detailed stone accents, and the ornate slate roofs on buildings surrounding Francis Quadrangle. The result is a historically referenced building, which enhances both the School of Journalism and overall campus. At night, light spills onto Centennial Plaza and creates a visual anchor for this beautiful corner of the quadrangle.
Interior design
Moving from exterior to interior conveys a dramatic change from historic architecture to spaces pointing to future technologies and environments. From the light filled central void of the atrium, one has visual access to the high tech journalism Futures Lab below, Journalism Library and administration to the south, seminar rooms above, forum to the west, and the public access coffee bar to the north — all of which operate together to form a center of high energy and intellectual exchange.