USNI Conference Center
U.S. Naval Institute – Jack C. Taylor Conference Center – Annapolis, MD
The newly completed Jack C. Taylor Conference Center is located on the campus of the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and houses the Headquarters of the U.S. Naval Institute. The Center was built to continue the mission and vision of the U.S. Naval Institute. It was their intention to build a facility where its members could meet and discuss the challenges facing the Sea Services (Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard) and provide an inspiring place for service women and men, as well as the community, to convene and hold events, conferences, presentations, and educational sessions.
The Conference Center includes a 406-seat auditorium, a sound and projector booth, and meeting rooms built to adjoin Beach Hall, built in 1941. The main Conference Center space is constructed using a series of curved concrete walls which create concentric arcs forming the layout for the roof terrace, green roof areas, exterior walkways and stairs, planting beds, and the enclosed building spaces within. The composite steel roof beams clear span the auditorium space below while supporting the green roof and the fixed base post reactions from the permanent steel framed tensile structure which encloses the indoor/outdoor roof terrace above. All HVAC ducts were coordinated with the mechanical engineer to be located below both the raised flooring of the auditorium and the roof terrace.
The 3-story tall atrium, situated between the new and existing buildings, provides a grand entrance to the Center while seamlessly connecting the new space with the existing Beach Hall building. The atrium, appropriately named the “Hall of Honor”, is enclosed with an all-glass façade, which is supported by steel fins with exposed metal connections, and includes an elevator, a monumental stair, and a skywalk bridge linking the Third Floor of Beach Hall directly with the four-season roof terrace.
Structural Engineers Association Metropolitan Washington (SEA-MW) 2022 Merit Award Winner for New Construction Under $40 million.