ATLANTA — Georgia State University was awarded an Atlanta Urban Design Commission Design Award for the rehabilitation of its Student Success Center buildings, recognizing the university’s commitment to student-centered spaces that support academic achievement and its efforts to further weave the Atlanta Campus into the vibrant fabric of downtown.
The Atlanta Urban Design Commission Design Award recognizes the transformation of the 25-27 Auburn Ave. buildings, which were collectively known as the Bell Buildings and rehabilitated by the renowned architecture and design firm Lord Aeck Sargent Planning & Design Inc. into a modern, collaborative space designed to advance student excellence while fostering connection, accessibility and engagement across campus.
A Robert W. Woodruff Foundation gift enabled the buildings’ rebirth into the Student Success Center, which is also the headquarters of the National Institute for Student Success, itself a nationally recognized leader in higher-education student support services.
The rehabilitation project also advances Georgia State’s growing focus on placemaking, a core pillar of the university’s strategic plan. Through thoughtful and intentional design, placemaking efforts seek to create welcoming, dynamic spaces that strengthen community, enhance the student experience and reinforce the university’s identity within downtown Atlanta.
The Student Success Center rehabilitation exemplifies how student-centered design can activate space, promote collaboration and support meaningful interactions among students, faculty, staff and visitors.
“The rehabilitation of the Student Success Center buildings reflects our ongoing commitment to creating spaces that empower students and support groundbreaking work in higher education,” said Georgia State President M. Brian Blake. “This recognition affirms not only the design excellence of the project, but also our broader vision to build spaces that foster connection, belonging and success.”
Karen Gravel, AIA, LEED AP, Lord Aeck Sargent’s historic preservation principal, stated, “Rehabilitation of the 25-27 Auburn Ave. buildings (historically known as the Bell Buildings) for the Georgia State University Student Success Center was more than preserving a historic structure — it meant reimagining a landmark building as a living engine for support and opportunity. By transforming this once-vacant building into a ‘one-stop hub for student services,’ we honored Atlanta’s architectural history while creating a space designed for innovation, community and student achievement. Every design decision balanced historic character with the university’s mission of removing barriers and ensuring students from all backgrounds can thrive.”
The buildings at 25-27 Auburn Ave. were acquired by the Georgia State Foundation with the 2007 purchase of the 25 Park Place complex from SunTrust. Mostly vacant since the 1980s, the first of the two structures was built in 1907 by Southern Bell Telephone and Telegraph Company to house a switchboard operation. An expansion to the building’s east was added in 1922.
About the National Institute for Student Success
Located in the heart of downtown Atlanta, the National Institute for Student Success serves as a hub for research, strategy and collaboration focused on improving student achievement and closing equity gaps. The renovated space introduces flexible workspaces, collaborative meeting areas and enhanced technology, creating an environment that supports both internal teams and visiting partners from institutions across the country.
About the Atlanta Urban Design Commission Design Awards
The Atlanta Urban Design Commission Design Awards recognize outstanding contributions to the built environment that enhance the city’s character, livability and sense of place. This recognition underscores Georgia State’s role as a leader in shaping vibrant, forward-looking spaces within Atlanta’s urban core and advancing placemaking efforts that benefit both campus and community.
About Lord Aeck Sargent
Lord Aeck Sargent is an award-winning architecture, planning and interior design firm serving clients in the college and university, K-12 education, multifamily housing/mixed-use/commercial, and urban design/planning markets with specialization in sustainable design, science and technology, arts and culture, and historic preservation. The firm’s experts in these practice areas have deep regional and national experience and collaborate across firm offices located in Atlanta; Detroit; Austin, Texas; Chapel Hill, N.C.; Lexington, Ky.; and Washington, D.C. Lord Aeck Sargent has been named one of Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Top 25 Architectural Firms 20 times, received the American Institute of Architects’ National Honor Award and has been in Engineering News-Record Magazine’s Top 500 Design Firms list 15 times. LAS is consistently ranked on ENR’s Top 100 Green Design Firms list and has been named a Top Green Design firm by multiple publications. www.lordaecksargent.com.