The Mercer Site…
One of the great features of the Hurley Convergence Center is its proximity to the Simpson Library, but what if the original “Library Site” had been rejected?
There were two main sites originally proposed by the architectural firm Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, and several designs for each.
For the Mercer Site, it was generally assumed that Mercer Hall would be demolished and that a bridge would be created as an extension of Campus Walk.1 Additional common features were a “Convergence Square” and an access path or bridge to Campus Walk.
Within a month of the Mercer Site proposals, the site was rejected on the basis of being too far from Campus Walk and Simpson Library.6 The presentation containing these files can be downloaded here. The rest of this collection can be found in The Collection of Jerry Slezak.
1 Explore HCC, “John Morello Unedited Interview”, filmed March, 2016, Youtube video, 12:19. posted March, 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn4_GFINL_s/.
2 Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, Unnamed Sketch of the Mercer Site and Library Site, sept. 15, 2008, 3219 x 1663, JPG, The Collection of Jerry Slezak.
3 Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, Unnamed Sketch of the Mercer Site’s First Concept, sept. 15, 2008, 3226 x 2236, JPG, The Collection of Jerry Slezak.
4 Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, Unnamed Sketch of the Mercer Site’s Second Concept, sept. 15, 2008, 3176 x 2247, JPG, The Collection of Jerry Slezak.
5 Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company, Unnamed Sketch of the Mercer Site’s Third Concept, sept. 15, 2008, 3078 x 2196, JPG, The Collection of Jerry Slezak.
6 W.M. Jordan Company, “Convergence Center: Creating a Campus Learning Space for the Digital Age” (unpublished presentation, last modified March 10, 2015), PDF.