Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center

2021 Small Projects Award, AIA National
2020 Honor Award, AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Design Awards
2020 Merit Award, AIA Oregon Architecture Awards
2020 People’s Choice Award - Public/Institutional Category, AIA Eugene
2020 Colleague’s Choice Award, AIA Eugene

The Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center building project exists as a direct result of student activism and labor—past and present.

More than 50 years ago, the Black Student Union of 1968 formally charged university administration with enacting institutional change to combat racist treatment of the Black student body. Their list of grievances included: “a gross lack of Afro-American history and other subjects related to Black culture…the lack of Black professors and graduate students…. [and] the absence of Black art and culture on campus”.

Nearly five decades later, Black and African American students remain underserved in many of the same areas. On November 12, 2015 the UO Black Women of Achievement group organized a march on campus in solidarity with other campus protests like those at the University of Missouri. Five days later, a Black Student Task Force assembled a list of demands that echoed many of the 1968 desires, citing that “Black students continue to face racial discrimination and feel unsafe in the environment in which we live, work, and study.” The plan outlined twelve demands to “ensure that current and future Black students have a culturally appropriate and welcoming campus climate”.

Demand seven called for the creation of “a substantial endowment fund and support system to FUND AND OPEN a Black Cultural Center” located on-campus “with sufficient space to function as 1) a classroom to teach courses such as African-American history, and 2) a meeting space for black student organizations.”

The highly collaborative design process began in October of 2017 and involved the engagement with the black student organizations, faculty, and staff. Construction was completed in the Fall of 2019 with the grand opening being held on Oct 12, 2019. The grand opening also provided an opportunity to celebrate the life of the BCC’s namesake, Lyllye Reynolds-Parker.

The BCC was just starting to gain traction with students and the community when the Covid-19 pandemic hit, which forced the center to close. Prior to COVID the center was a place where students would come to do homework and student organizations held their weekly meetings. The first large-scale event hosted was Soul2Soul: Black History Kick-Off and Networking with more than 80 students, faculty members, and staff in attendance.

During the pandemic the BCC has found ways to continue providing support and augmented programming.

The Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center is the home for Black student organizations and initiatives that directly enhance the college experience of Black students on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, Oregon. The purpose of the center is to be a nucleus for Black student life by providing a place that supports education, growth, and development. The space welcomes campus and community members to partake in cultural events and learn about the history that led to the creation of the Black Cultural Center at UO.

The program for the BCC is comprised of six functional components - the Entry/Greeting Area, the Resource Center, the Gallery, Office and Meeting Rooms, Multi-purpose Room (or “Chapel”), and Support Spaces - ordered around a central covered indoor/outdoor space (the “Porch”). The Entry/Greeting Area and Resource Center comprise the north wing of the building situated off East 15th Avenue, which is a main campus axis. The Multi-purpose Room and associated support spaces comprise the south wing of the building. The Gallery, Office and Meeting Rooms, and the “Porch” provide the connection between the two wings.

The Lyllye Reynolds-Parker Black Cultural Center achieved a LEED v4 NC Silver certification and has been designed to provide energy cost savings of 30% better than the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 baseline. Energy efficiency measures include an efficient ductless split system, energy recovery ventilation with demand control ventilation, and LED lighting. Preference was given to materials with Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs), reports created by manufacturers and industry groups to assess the life cycle impacts of products. In addition, the building includes over 20 materials with Health Product Declarations (HPDs) transparency reports disclosing material ingredients. Indoor air quality was very important to the project and all of the paints, coatings, flooring, ceilings, and insulation have been tested for compliance with the California Department of Public Health standard for emissions. The wood trusses that help achieve the building’s dynamic roof form are Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified wood and composite wood products meet California Air and Resources Board (CARB) compliance for no added formaldehyde. The landscaping consists of drought tolerant native and adaptive plantings, using 50% less water for irrigation than an average design.