Umass Amherst’s new 70,000-sf Business Innovation Hub combines a new expansion with the partial renovation of the Isenberg School of Management. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) designed the building with Goody Clancy as the architect of Record.
The building doubles the school’s current space and introduces new facilities for more than 150 staff and 5,000 students in undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs. The exterior is wrapped in straight, vertical pillars that gradually slope downward, creating a domino effect and a triangular glass entrance. The exterior’s copper cladding will naturally weather from a dark ochre to a patina with long-term exposure to the elements.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Students and faculty will enter into the naturally-lit, 5,000-sf Learning Commons. This will be a place for learning, networking, and dining. The Learning Commons can also double as a venue for guest speakers, ceremonies, banquets, and career fairs.
See Also: 17-story Data Sciences building to rise on Boston University campus
The Business Innovation Hub extends directly into the existing 1964 building from the north and east sides in a wide circular loop. The loop consolidates Isenberg’s faculty and staff under one roof and creates a circular place of arrival. Various conference rooms and breakout areas are distributed throughout the loop.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
“The new Business Innovation Hub at the Isenberg School of Management is conceived as an extension of both the building and the campus mall,” said Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, BIG, in a release. “The linear structure is bent to form a full loop framing an internal courtyard for the life of the students. The façade is pulled away in a domino effect to create a generous invitation from the Haigis Mall to the Learning Commons. The mall and the courtyard – inside and outside form a forum for the students, the faculty and the profession to meet, mingle and mix society and academia.”
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Innovation labs, advising spaces, and faculty offices are located on the second and third floors. Classrooms are equipped with integrated technology for distance learning and can be easily transformed for theater-style lectures or small group work.
The inner spaces of the extension face a circular courtyard that connects back to the campus via two pathways between the original Isenberg building and the Business Innovation Hub. Two bridges above these paths fuse the buildings.
Photo: Max Touhey.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Photo: Max Touhey.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Photo: Laurian Ghinitoiu.
Related Stories
University Buildings | Mar 11, 2016
How architects can help community colleges promote community on campus
Even in the face of funding challenges and historic precedent, there are emerging examples of how partnership between two-year academic institutions and designers can further elevate community on campus. CannonDesign's Carisima Koenig has a few key examples.
University Buildings | Mar 1, 2016
The 5 most questionable college and university rankings of 2015
SmithGroupJJR's David Lantz identifies five of the most flawed higher education rating systems, including ones with arbitrary categories, and others that equate college with a transactional investment.
University Buildings | Feb 29, 2016
4 factors driving the student housing market
In the hyper-competitive higher education sector, colleges and universities view residence halls as extensions of their academic brands, both on and off campus.
University Buildings | Feb 17, 2016
New ideas to help universities attract and empower STEM students
Educational institutions are focusing on new learning strategies that engage students in activities, enable collaboration across STEM disciplines, and encourage students to use their hands just as much as their heads, as Stephen Blair of CannonDesign writes.
Multifamily Housing | Feb 1, 2016
Top 10 kitchen design trends for 2016
Charging stations, built-in coffeemakers, and pet stations—these are among the top kitchen design trends for the coming year, according to a new survey of kitchen and bath designers by the National Kitchen & Bath Association.
| Jan 14, 2016
How to succeed with EIFS: exterior insulation and finish systems
This AIA CES Discovery course discusses the six elements of an EIFS wall assembly; common EIFS failures and how to prevent them; and EIFS and sustainability.
Greenbuild Report | Dec 10, 2015
AASHE’s STARS tool highlights the university sector’s holistic approach to sustainability
Buzzwords like “living lab” and “experiential learning” are indicative of the trend toward more holistic sustainability programs that incorporate all facets of college life.
University Buildings | Nov 5, 2015
How active design is reshaping higher education campuses
Active design, a dynamic approach to design with a primary focus on people, assists students in learning to make healthy choices, writes LPA's Glenn Carels.
University Buildings | Nov 4, 2015
Yale completes Singapore campus
The Yale-NUS College has three residence halls and two administrative and academic buildings, with courtyards in the middle of them all.
University Buildings | Oct 16, 2015
5 ways architecture defines the university brand
People gravitate to brands for many reasons. Campus architecture and landscape are fundamental influences on the college brand, writes Perkins+Will's David Damon.
