Blue Grass Trust October 2023 deTour | Student Center at Bluegrass Community and Technical College

The October 2023 Blue Grass Trust deTour explored the Student Center at Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC), Newtown Pike campus.

Located on the former site of Eastern State Hospital, the building originally housed laundry services for the hospital. When BCTC acquired the property, the college opted to rehab the building as the student center, naming it The Den in reference to a skulk of foxes that live on campus.

Omni Architects was selected for the job. The challenge they faced was to include BCTC’s full range of student services within the location. The services required double the square footage available, which resulted in the need for an addition to the building. The addition is connected to the historic building by a low-rise corridor, which creates a 30-foot separation between the two and maintains the architectural integrity of the historic structure.

Earlier this year, The Den received a Clyde Carpenter Adaptive Re-Use Award from the Blue Grass Trust for their work of preserving the character of the existing building while introducing modern features to make it more energy-efficient and aesthetically relevant for students.