Architecture: Leonard B. Gittinger Campus Ministries Center

Butler Rosenbury & Partners is architect for the Leonard B. Gittinger Campus Ministries Center for College of the Ozarks in Point Lookout. Butler Rosenbury also is structural engineer. Malone, Finkle, Eckhardt & Collins is mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineer. College of the Ozarks, in conjunction with Youngblood Construction, is general contractor for the 10,300-square-foot structure, which should be complete in April. The development of a new facility for the music department and its subsequent relocation to that facility allows this building to be renovated and dedicated to the Department of Campus Ministries and Religious Studies. The historic limestone building was originally the campus dining hall. It was added on to during the 1960s. The challenge was to convert the former dining hall with large north-facing windows into faculty offices and meeting space while making the building accessible. The solution was to remove a portion of the 1960s addition along the quadrangle and replace it with a two-story glass atrium that serves as a ramp and a visual connector to the adjacent Gittinger Music Center, also designed by Butler Rosenbury. The two projects were conceived simultaneously, allowing the opportunity to redefine the edge of the quadrangle and reinforce pedestrian movement along that edge. The scale of the glass wall is broken down with smaller masonry elements, one of which is a cylindrical prayer chapel that will house historic stained glass donated to the college.