He felt pride knowing his office and lab would be housed in the building renamed in her honor.

But when attendees stepped inside the building to view Reuben-Cooke’s portrait and a historical exhibit installed in the entrance hallway, the interior told a different story. Bennett recalled that the aging, dimly lit spaces of the 1931 building did not yet reflect the legacy it was meant to honor.

That is about to change.

The 76,500-square-foot Reuben-Cooke Building, one of the first structures on West Campus, is undergoing a multi-year renewal that will make it a state-of-the-art hub of teaching, learning and research with modernized classrooms, labs and offices.

Since work began last year, between 75 and 120 workers have been on site each day, completely reimagining the interior, removing 513 historic windows for refurbishment and replacing custom color “Duke mix” terra cotta roof tiles.

The project reflects Duke’s commitment to modernizing campus facilities while honoring the university’s history and partnering with Durham and Triangle-based businesses.

“Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke was so important to this community and to the history of Duke,” Bennett said. “This renewal is a fitting legacy.”

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Campus Renewal

Early this year, Duke leaders donned hard hats and safety vests and toured the Reuben-Cooke Building.

Amid the whine of electric drills and chatter of workers’ voices, they saw the guts of the building’s new electrical, mechanical, plumbing and telecommunications systems taking shape.

Metal frames hinted at the layout of future classrooms, offices and collaboration spaces, some with translucent walls allowing natural light to reach deeper into the building.

Visitors learned how the hand-laid traditional Abele Quad terracotta roofing tiles are cut in multiple sizes and how the refurbished windows will have both an antique look and modern insulating technologies that will reduce the building’s energy needs.

“We’re still able to maintain the historical integrity of the building, but at the same time, right-size and modernize classroom and faculty spaces,” Duke Facilities Management Senior Manager for Capital Projects Gregory Stribling said.

From the sunny studios of Rubenstein Arts Center to the green rooftop of Grainger Hall, Duke boasts several 21st century buildings that will help define its future.

But in the coming years, Duke is prioritizing the modernization and expansion of existing facilities on campus to support collaborative and interdisciplinary learning.

With financial support coming from a portion of a $100 million Centennial gift from the Duke Endowment,  the Reuben-Cooke Building renovation marks the first step, highlighting Duke’s commitment to being a steward of its existing facilities and modernizing campus while aiming to minimize waste and carbon emissions.

While each of the decades-old West Campus buildings slated for future renovations has unique challenges, the Reuben-Cooke project will provide a valuable blueprint for how to ensure spaces that are central to Duke’s past endure well into its future.

“We’re renovating these buildings for the next 100 years,” Stribling said. “When we’re doing these renewal projects, especially in the heart of campus, on the most beautiful campus in the country, we have to make sure that we take advantage of every opportunity to get it right.”

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Homegrown Partnerships

With more than a year to go before the Reuben-Cooke Building project is complete, the work unfolding on the site is nearly constant.

Whenever he has visited the site over the past year, SGS Contracting President Brandt Smith has relished seeing members of his team helping restore a building that honors, Reuben-Cooke, one of the first five Black students who integrated Duke’s campus in 1963.

“To know her story, and know what she went through, it means a lot,” Smith said. “And for me, being African American, being from Durham, it means even more. I can walk because people like her crawled.”

SGS Contracting is assisting Duke and its primary construction partner, LeChase Construction, with project management duties such as onboarding new subcontractors and documenting progress. O’Brien Atkins Architects and Annum have provided architectural services for the project.

All told, 37 subcontractors are working on the project, handling tasks ranging from plumbing and roofing to masonry restoration and terrazzo flooring. Nine are owned by women or minorities. Thirty-two of the subcontractors are based in the Triangle, including 12 in Durham.

“The technical complexity of going into a historic building and figuring out how to install an entirely new mechanical system, HVAC and all the new infrastructure, while still assuring its historic integrity is a great engineering feat,” said Duke University Executive Vice President Daniel Ennis. “We’ve assembled a great team.”

Finding opportunities to partner with local construction firms is part of Duke's HomeGrown initiative aimed at supporting the Durham and Triangle communities.

With three generations of Durham roots, Smith founded SGS Contracting in 2013 after recognizing that local companies were not fully sharing in the city’s growth.

While SGS Contracting, which manages complex interior renovations, has worked with Duke on smaller past projects, the Reuben-Cooke Building renovation is its most substantial, and meaningful, project yet.

“This is exactly why I wanted to start this company,” Smith said. “I wanted somebody from Durham and of African American descent to be part of these projects.”

Smith’s pride in the project mirrors the broader purpose behind renovating the building that houses the Department of Sociology and the Department of Psychology & Neuroscience. It’s not just about restoring brick and stone; it’s about ensuring the building fully reflects the legacy of the woman whose name it bears.

Upon entering the renovated Reuben-Cooke Building, visitors will experience a tribute to Reuben-Cooke.

Informed by architects’ conversations with Reuben-Cooke’s family about her welcoming spirit and devotion to her South Carolina roots, the new main lobby will feature a spacious, sunlit seating area, fireplace and carpeting with patterns inspired by southern quilters. It will also have an expanded exhibit about Reuben-Cooke’s time as a civil rights advocate at Duke, where she later served on the Board of Trustees, and her successful career in law and higher education.

“I couldn’t be more excited about what is happening on this site,” said Duke University President Vincent E. Price.  “It’s a wonderful testimony to our incredible staff, engineers, and designers, and it will be a wonderful memorial to Wilhelmina Reuben-Cooke.”

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