Stephen M. Ross School of Business

University of Michigan

Cementing the University of Michigan’s standing as one of the premier business schools in America, the Ross School of Business complex is a world-class facility with an enduring local identity.

Completed in two phases over the course of 12 years, the project combines new construction and renovation to provide the school with one of the most advanced business education facilities in the world. The primary objective was to transform the culture of the school, giving it a strong identity with a new front door and a cohesive and inspiring series of exterior and interior spaces, including a winter garden that serves as a much-needed physical center of gravity for its intellectual and social life.

The complex provides facilities that satisfy the full range of program needs for the business school curriculum, including a colloquium, gym, career center, faculty and department offices, and a variety of instructional and meeting spaces. The facility also offers a bevy of work and study spaces, ranging from quiet study areas to “maker spaces” to the “Center of Centers,” where most of the School’s research centers and institutes are gathered into a single collaborative setting.

Envisioned as a 100-year building for the school, the complex comprises a finely detailed series of spaces that will represent the institution long into the future. Complementing the surrounding campus structures, the project’s material palette of red terra cotta, glass, green granite, and split-faced sandstone carries into the interior public spaces, where it contrasts with warm ash and walnut paneling. The complex uses 23% less energy than a standard code-compliant building and incorporates a number of sustainability design elements and strategies, including natural cork floors, green roofs, an underfloor air system, and a heat recovery wheel.

Learn more about how KPF transformed the school here.

Location

Ann Arbor, MI, USA

Client

University of Michigan

Team

Anthony Blackett (Educational Programmer)

Type

Education

Size

42,800 m2 / 460,600 ft2

Certification

LEED Silver (Phase I), LEED Gold (Phase II)

Awards

Honor Award (Phase II, AIA New York State 2018), Award of Merit (International Association of Lighting Designers 2010), Award of Honor (Society of American Registered Architects 2009), International Architecture Award – Winner (The Chicago Athenaeum 2007), American Architecture Award (Phase II, The Chicago Athenaeum 2018), A+ Awards: Higher Education & Research Facilities – Special Mention (Phase II, Architizer 2018), Construction & Design Award (Phase II, Engineering Society of Detroit 2017)

View More

Project Type:Education
Project Location:Americas