SPC Student Success Center

St. Petersburg, FL

The Story

St. Petersburg College’s Student Success Center brings together key programs for student resources. Housing the registration and financial assistance departments, the three story 49,000 sf building also blends together women’s resources, veterans services, and a large tutoring and learning center.

An occupiable interior terrain is created through open floor plates making double height spaces connecting large stairs with seating and accessible flexible shared commons for learning groups and meeting spaces.

Exterior balconies and a large outdoor classroom along the nearby Lake offer interior and exterior learning environments and collaboration space. The building has a large community room with operable partitions to offer a venue for a variety of student events. Interior program is connected to shared commons with large openings and glass storefronts to visually connect, assist wayfinding, and to combine give flexibility to program requirements for collaborative and meeting spaces.

A coffee shop at the ground level, usable space at the lake, and the opportunity to rent the 2nd level community room provides the opportunity for the local community access to use the new facility.

The orientation of the building is located close to the heart of campus to foster accessible resources for students, but also has a glassy east façade creating a new entry face to the campus that at night illuminates the interior of connected study spaces and student resources.

A large breeze-way entry provides a direct connection from the east entry of the parking lot to the west entry on the campus side.

The intent and direction of the design of the Student Success Center has become a new heart of the college campus by connecting students and community through its site location and building design.

Awards

FEFPA Award of Merit for College Category (2022)