Duke University Divinity School Addition

Owner: Duke University
Location: Durham, N.C.
Contractor: Skanska USA Building, Charlotte, N.C.
Architect: Hartman Cox Architects, Washington, D.C.

The challenge of the Divinity School Addition project at Duke University was constructing a modern building that matched and complemented the materials and craftsmanship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which was the style of the surrounding campus structures.

The owners, designers and contractors worked together on the project's - design, means and methods, and construction details. An example of this was the series of documents created to integrate the exterior wall system of limestone, hand-set Duke Stone, steel, concrete and glass.

The group created a book of Masonry Opening tickets that compiled input from all relevant subcontractors - steel, block masonry, concrete, limestone carving, stone mason and window glazier. Tickets were drafted showing all plans, elevations and multiple detailed sections of more than 33 prototypical masonry openings.

The resulting product ensured seamless production of all elements and enabled just-in-time delivery on a constricted site.

The completed project furthers the mission of the Divinity School by providing a 3,500-sq.-ft. chapel for worship, learning and prayer. The Divinity School community will benefit from a refectory for gathering and eating, a significant increase in classroom spaces, administrative offices and a suite of offices for the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life.

The increased classroom and preaching laboratories create greater nurturing of congregations throughout North Carolina and the United States.