The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has unveiled a new medical education building, Roper Hall. Designed by The S/L/A/M Collaborative (SLAM) and Flad Architects, the UNC School of Medicine’s new building intends to train new generations of physicians through dynamic and active modes of learning.
“We studied what medical students need to really succeed in today’s world and reverse-engineered a design that provides the space to prepare future physicians,” Kimberly Robidoux, higher education practice leader, SLAM, said in a statement.
A notable feature of the 172,000-sf facility: It has no lecture halls. Instead, Roper Hall offers 16 seminar rooms and six medium-size classrooms.
Roper Hall also features an active learning theater, which SLAM describes as the building’s crown jewel. The learning theater, which can house up to 240 people, serves the design emphasis on creating spaces for first- and second-year students to meet and work together. The learning theater doubles as an event space and has become the main location for the school’s annual Match Day, when students are paired with their residency programs.
To support the school’s active learning curriculum, SLAM has designed multiple simulation labs and a clinical skills center for inter-professional training. The simulation labs include large operating rooms and patient care bays with video monitoring to track student progress.
Focus group sessions with over 50 students and committees informed the eight-floor building. This engagement led to the creation of spaces such as the medical student commons—a lounge equipped with a kitchenette, ping-pong tables, TV screens, and banquette seating. Based on student feedback, the design team also incorporated a café and a fitness center.
The design draws on UNC’s surrounding landscape and community. On entry, terrazzo flooring contains crushed seashells that evoke North Carolina’s coast. A nod to the state’s many forests, wood treatments accentuate the active learning theater. And on every floor, large-format photography captures the state’s landscapes.
On the Building Team:
Owner: The University of North Carolina School of Medicine
Architect of record, design architect, co-interior architect: Flad Architects
Medical education planner, co-interior design architect: The S/L/A/M Collaborative
MEP and structural engineer: Affiliated Engineers
General contractor: T.A. Loving
Related Stories
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | Jan 17, 2024
Waterproofing deep foundations for new construction
This continuing education course, by Walter P Moore's Amos Chan, P.E., BECxP, CxA+BE, covers design considerations for below-grade waterproofing for new construction, the types of below-grade systems available, and specific concerns associated with waterproofing deep foundations.
University Buildings | Jan 15, 2024
The death of single-use university buildings
As institutions aim to improve the lives of their students and the spaces they inhabit, flexible university buildings may provide an all-in-one solution.
University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023
Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex
A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.
University Buildings | Dec 5, 2023
The University of Cincinnati builds its largest classroom building to serve its largest college
The University of Cincinnati’s recently completed Clifton Court Hall unifies the school’s social science programs into a multidisciplinary research and education facility. The 185,400-sf structure is the university’s largest classroom building, serving its largest college, the College of Arts and Sciences.
Products and Materials | Nov 30, 2023
Top building products for November 2023
BD+C Editors break down 15 of the top building products this month, from horizontal sliding windows to discreet indoor air infusers.
Higher Education | Nov 21, 2023
UPitt at Bradford opens new Engineering & Information Technologies Building
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford recently opened a new engineering and information technology building that adds urgently needed lab and instructional space to the campus.
Esports Arenas | Oct 10, 2023
Modular esports arena attracts more than gamers
As the esports market continues to grow to unprecedented numbers, more facilities are being developed by universities and real estate firms each year.
Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023
Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning
With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 80 University Building Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, BR+A, and Salas O'Brien head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
