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
| Jun 3, 2013
Construction spending inches upward in April
The U.S. Census Bureau of the Department of Commerce announced today that construction spending during April 2013 was estimated at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $860.8 billion, 0.4 percent above the revised March estimate of $857.7 billion.
| May 20, 2013
Jones Lang LaSalle: All U.S. real estate sectors to post gains in 2013—even retail
With healthier job growth numbers and construction volumes at near-historic lows, real estate experts at Jones Lang LaSalle see a rosy year for U.S. commercial construction.
| Apr 30, 2013
Tips for designing with fire rated glass - AIA/CES course
Kate Steel of Steel Consulting Services offers tips and advice for choosing the correct code-compliant glazing product for every fire-rated application. This BD+C University class is worth 1.0 AIA LU/HSW.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 2, 2013
6 lobby design tips
If you do hotels, schools, student unions, office buildings, performing arts centers, transportation facilities, or any structure with a lobby, here are six principles from healthcare lobby design that make for happier users—and more satisfied owners.
| Mar 14, 2013
25 cities with the most Energy Star certified buildings
Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Chicago top EPA's list of the U.S. cities with the greatest number of Energy Star certified buildings in 2012.
Building Enclosure Systems | Mar 13, 2013
5 novel architectural applications for metal mesh screen systems
From folding façades to colorful LED displays, these fantastical projects show off the architectural possibilities of wire mesh and perforated metal panel technology.
