Patrick F. Taylor Hall is more than just the home of the LSU College of Engineering— it is an architectural gem in Baton Rouge.
Patrick F. Taylor Hall was awarded the AIA Baton Rouge Gold Rose Award in August. This award recognizes exceptional designs by local architects in hopes of bringing the community together and spreading awareness of the outstanding work across the greater Baton Rouge area.
College of Engineering Dean Judy Wornat said receiving the award is an honor for the College of Engineering.
“Receiving the Gold Rose Award is an honor, as it reflects the collaborative spirit that was very much a redesign of Patrick F. Taylor Hall,” Wornat said. “Each day, our faculty and students are working together, sometimes across disciplines, to create solutions to the world’s most pressing technical challenges, and our state-of-the-art facility helps drive those efforts.”
Patrick F. Taylor Hall, referred to as “PFT” by many students, was recognized for its innovative integration of transparent and collaborative interior architecture.
PFT was designed by Perkins+Will and Coleman Partners Architects and completed in 2018. According to AOS Interior Environments, the project included a 130,000 square-foot expansion of the existing 300,000 square-foot building, and it is now the largest academic building on the University’s campus and in Louisiana. PFT is also one of the largest freestanding academic buildings in the U.S.
PFT received its name from 1959 alumnus Patrick F. Taylor. Taylor, an LSU petroleum engineering graduate, is responsible for the creation of the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students, better known as TOPS.
“[Taylor] believed that everyone deserves the opportunity to earn a college degree regardless of his or her economic means,” reads the College of Engineering’s website. “His legacy continues today with the newly renovated and expanded Patrick F. Taylor Hall.”
PFT provides students and staff with 134,989 square feet of teaching and laboratory space and 41,202 square feet of student collaboration space, according to the College of Engineering’s website. These spaces are intended to stimulate innovative thinking and foster breakthroughs in science and engineering.
Engineering students, including chemical engineering sophomore Brennan Hagan, have taken advantage of the many areas to learn and study that are available to them in PFT.
“PFT has such an open environment with plenty of study spots and rooms to choose from, along with many modern labs and classrooms,” Hagan said.
The transparency of the classrooms and study spaces at PFT reveal their theme of “Engineering on Display.” By simply walking through the halls, one is able to see students and professors at work. The design of PFT supports 21st-century learning, providing students and faculty with a variety of spaces for collaboration and independent work so they can choose how they prefer to learn, gather and work.
The interior of PFT can be described as modern and is unique compared to the interior of other buildings on the University’s campus. AOS helped procure lounge seating that demonstrates the spirit of the University, with gold fabrics against purple textures and supports, and its commitment to modern teaching methods, education and research.
Students on campus agree that PFT provides students with modern and innovative study spaces that promote learning.
“PFT’s modern design enables me to be motivated to stay ahead on my schoolwork because it has such a productive atmosphere,” computer science sophomore Justin Nicols said.