New School of Business Building

The proposed School of Business building is a six-story, 130,000 square foot structure located adjacent to University Hall. The building will anchor a future lower academic quad where the soccer field is presently located and will require the building to have two main entries, one on the lower level facing the Red Hawk Deck and one on the first floor off of the upper quad. This placement of the building helps complete the enclosure of the upper quad while providing a new gateway to the future lower quad.

The lower level of the building houses a cafeteria and academic classrooms. A separate entrance brings visitors to a lobby that provides elevator access to the floors above or a master staircase which leads to the cafeteria or the building atrium on the first floor.

Entrance to the first floor is either from the upper quad through the main lobby, or from the lower level master staircase. The building is designed around a central atrium which connects the remaining five floors with a monumental stair. The first and second floors are designed to create a dynamic, energetic feel that supports student needs and services. The goal of these floors is to create a series of transparent and semi-transparent spaces where students and faculty can meet, intermingle and be seen by their peers. This is accomplished through the use of wood-framed glass doors and window systems in many of these spaces. Surrounding the atrium on the first floor are a series of small group study rooms, the Student Services suite, the Executive Education Multi Purpose Room, a large lecture hall and a student lounge. The atrium on the second floor is ringed by additional small group study rooms and the graduate lounge, all which have large windows looking down to the floor below.

Floors three through five incorporate a mix of academic offices and classroom areas clustered into distinct zones and separated by department offices, seminar rooms and conference rooms to allow for the intermingling of faculty and students.

The project is designed to comply with a Silver Certification Level according to the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) rating system.