STEM-focused Kettering University opens Stantec-designed Learning Commons

In Flint, Mich., Kettering University opened its new $63 million Learning Commons, designed by Stantec. The new facility will support collaboration, ideation, and digital technology for the STEM-focused higher learning institution.

The four-story, 105,000-sf building includes an open-air atrium as well as a skylight designed to fill the entire interior with natural light. The first and second floors feature public gathering, dining, and collaborative spaces. 

The third and fourth floors offer additional collaborative spaces and areas for research, student support, media resources, individual focus, and group project work. Other elements include a 200-seat multimedia auditorium and an overnight suite for guest professors and lecturers.

The facility also features more than a dozen spaces that serve as collaborative study and team rooms, with comfortable and functional seating for students, faculty, and staff, as well as digital and analog work tools. Two Knowledge Bars host a fully digital library, with more than 900,000 e-books, 100,000 e-journals, and 100-plus databases. 

A 1,600-sf rooftop garden will reduce runoff and lower temperatures on its surface and the surrounding area.

Stantec’s design of the Learning Commons reflects the school’s longevity while offering durability for the years ahead. 

“The Stantec team focused on giving the new facility a timeless and elegant design. The interior has been strategically designed to provide optimum flexibility, with power and technology woven throughout. The building can easily transform to meet the needs of students and faculty, while also allowing for easy adaptability to future programs or space reconfigurations,” Stantec said in a statement.

On the Building Team:
Owner: Kettering University
Design architect and architect of record: Stantec
MEP and structural engineer: Stantec 
Civil/site engineer: Spalding DeDecker
Landscape architect: Michael J. Dul & Associates
Technology: NV5
General contractor/construction manager: Clark Construction Company