The Duke University Brodhead Center for Campus Life, formerly the historic West Campus Union, is the major cornerstone of the Duke Campus. Fully modernized, with glass, the high-ceilinged, day-lit hall includes a variety of dining venues where faculty, students, staff, and alumni can meet for planned or impromptu interactions.
From Inside Brodhead Center at Duke University
Stairs Inside Brodhead Center at Duke University
The architects, for the Richard H. Brodhead Center, preserved the integrity of the 1920s design, restoring the historic structure while also building a modern glass-centric atrium at Duke University. The facility features diverse dining venues and student life spaces of many scales. The design of the “interior street,” which blends new and old and was instrumental in defining the ambitions of the student life spaces, was developed in collaboration with Duke’s stakeholders and the student body.
Brodhead Center at Duke University
Brodhead Center Reflections
James Buchanan Duke is depicted on the statue as larger than life, standing atop an octagonal plinth or pedestal of polished dark granite in front of Duke Chapel. He is holding a walking stick in his right hand and the ever-present cigar in his left hand.
James Buchanan Duke (1856–1925) was an American industrialist and philanthropist known for revolutionizing the tobacco industry, building a massive hydroelectric power empire, and founding Duke University.
Duke Chapel behind the James Duke Statue
James Duke Statue in front of Duke Chapel
A building with architecture different from Gothic at Duke University
Duke University Different Architecture
Another building of Gothic architecture with a lot of windows at Duke University
Duke University Building
The term Collegiate Gothic derives from Gothic Revival, an architectural style inspired by medieval Gothic architecture. When the founders of Duke University were deciding on the architectural style for the new campus, they visited many established universities, including the University of Chicago, Yale, and Princeton, and decided that a Collegiate Gothic campus within a North Carolina Piedmont forest would be ideal for Duke.
Gothic Architecture Duke University
Strolling around Duke University displays the classic Gothic architecture
Strolling at Duke University
The Davison Building was designed to open onto the university’s academic quad. Forming the heart of the historic West Campus of Duke University residential community, Craven and Crowell Quads are as synonymous with Duke’s classic Gothic architecture as the Chapel itself.
Home to approximately 395 sophomores, juniors, and seniors, Craven Quad was originally built in the 1930s and renovated in 2019.
Duke University Quad
Duke University Craven Quad
Visited Durham, North Carolina, to capture the architecture of Duke University and the surrounding areas.
Our first stop was at Duke Cancer Center. The architecture reflects the collegiate Gothic style of the Duke campus, while ample natural light and arched wood accents, echoing the Carolina pines, harmonize with the surrounding environment.
Duke Cancer Center
Davison Building, Duke Cancer Center
We end the series of images with a tranquil stream and mini-waterfall in the asian section of Sarah P. Duke Gardens at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina.
A Mini Waterfall
The Sarah P. Duke Gardens in Durham, North Carolina consist of approximately 55 acres of landscaped and wooded areas at Duke University. There are 5 miles of walks and pathways throughout the gardens. More than 400,000 visitors from all over the world visit Sarah P. Duke Gardens annually. Will be posting some images from the gardens this week.
Topped by a wisteria-covered pergola, the Terrace beds are filled each season with marvelous combinations of bulbs, annuals, perennials, ornamental grasses, trees and shrubs. Container plantings complement the landscape designs.
Terraced Gardens
A chain blocks the entrance to a door but can’t hide the beauty of ornate, stone arches at Duke Chapel in North Carolina
Forbidden Door
Duke University Chapel, like many Christian churches and cathedrals, is cruciform, with a nave that measures 291 feet long, 63 feet wide, and 73 feet high. The walls and vaults of the nave and transepts are constructed from Guastavino tile and were sealed in 1976 to increase sound reverberation and enhance the sound of the organ.
Majestic Chapel
Altar at Duke Chapel
The doorway to Duke University Chapel in North Carolina is quite impressive. Carved on the ornate entrance to the Chapel are ten figures important to Methodism, Protestantism, and the American South.
Impressive Doorway
Duke University Chapel is a chapel located at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. Constructed from 1930 to 1932, the Chapel seats about 1,800 people and stands 210 feet tall, making it one of the tallest buildings in Durham County. It is built in the Collegiate Gothic style, characterized by its large stones, pointed arches, and ribbed vaults.
Duke University Chapel