DeBruce Center University of Kansas Building, US Academic Building Design Images
DeBruce Center at the University of Kansas
Contemporary Architecture in Lawrence, KS, USA ? design by Gould Evans Architects
Jun 10, 2017
DeBruce Center at the University of Kansas
Design: Gould Evans
Location: Lawrence, Douglas County, Kansas, United States of America
DeBruce Center at the University of Kansas
The DeBruce Center at the University of Kansas is a unique hybrid of museum and student commons designed to serve as the permanent home for the historic two-page document on which, in 1891, James Naismith outlined The Original 13 Rules of Basketball.

KU alumnus David Booth purchased this historical document at auction for $4.3 million and subsequently donated it to the university. For the university, obtaining The Rules ? the ?holy grail? for basketball fans ? cemented its identity as the cradle of the sport. Naismith had founded KU?s acclaimed program in 1898 and then spent nine years as its coach. However, the acquisition was contingent on building a facility suitable to house and display it. With the donation of a lead gift for the building, the project became a reality.
Initially without a program ? aside from the protection and display of two sheets of paper ? the architects and university stakeholders came together to outline three guiding principles for the project: to create an economically-sustainable facility, honor The Rules while expanding the narrative to illustrate how th...