A new 61,000-sf, $29.5 million Murchie Science Building (MSB) addition has completed on the University of Michigan-Flint campus. The facility was designed to respond to the university’s dramatically growing STEM program and support the College of Innovation and Technology while also providing a new gateway building to the school’s entire student body.
The MSB is organized to support immersive learning on each of its four floors. Three programatic “bars” connect and run parallel to the existing linear structure supporting varied learning and collaborative experiences. A central interaction and collaborative bar brings together the two flanking bars of experiential learning and accessible faculty. At the highly visible east gateway end of the addition each bar cantilevers out over the landscape to different degrees with the central bar increasing in height. An all glass lobby floats below the cantilevered architecture to provide a highly visible point of arrival.
The facility also includes:
— two-story high collaborative spaces visible on all floors at the west end of the addition that promote vertical connectivity and visibility before floors
— classroom and lab spaces organized in a contiguous bar that provide flexibility for future room configuration and alternate pedagogies
— a main ground floor interior circulation system that integrates an existing east-west campus pathway that will increase exposure and promote STEM programs to students passing through the building
— a system of protected pathways, locking doors, and the strategic use of opaque solid walls that provide a secure-in-place strategy for all occupants of the building.
The layered cantilevered forms of the addition integrate with and advance the existing linear architecture to create an integrated gateway that is highly visible point of entry and arrival into the university.
Related Stories
Sponsored | BD+C University Course | May 3, 2022
For glass openings, how big is too big?
Advances in glazing materials and glass building systems offer a seemingly unlimited horizon for not only glass performance, but also for the size and extent of these light, transparent forms. Both for enclosures and for indoor environments, novel products and assemblies allow for more glass and less opaque structure—often in places that previously limited their use.
Education Facilities | Apr 28, 2022
ProConnect Education (K-12 to University) comes to Scottsdale, AZ, Dec 4-6
ProConnect Education 2022 will attract building product specifiers and manufacturers to the Andaz Resort in Scottsdale, Ariz., in December.
Sports and Recreational Facilities | Apr 27, 2022
New Univ. of Texas Moody Center houses men’s and women’s basketball, other events
The recently completed 530,000 sf University of Texas Moody Center is the new home for men’s and women’s basketball at the Austin campus.
Architects | Apr 22, 2022
Top 10 green building projects for 2022
The American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment (COTE) has announced its COTE Top Ten Awards for significant achievements in advancing climate action.
University Buildings | Apr 18, 2022
SmithGroup to design new Univ. of Colorado Denver engineering, design, computing building
The University of Colorado Denver selected SmithGroup to design a new engineering, design, and computing building that will serve as anchor of new downtown innovation district.
Projects | Apr 1, 2022
University complex encourages exchange between academics and residents
In the small Danish city of Horsens, C.F. Møller Architects has created a university complex that unites higher education with urban life—creating synergies among students, staff, businesses, and residents
Energy-Efficient Design | Mar 25, 2022
University of Pittsburgh Releases ‘Pitt Climate Action Plan’
The University of Pittsburgh has released the Pitt Climate Action Plan, detailing how the University will achieve its goal to go carbon neutral by 2037 through investments in clean energy, transportation, efficiency and other areas.
Higher Education | Mar 24, 2022
Higher education sector sees 19 percent reduction in facilities investments
Colleges and universities face a growing backlog of capital needs and funding shortfalls, according to Gordian’s 2022 State of Facilities in Higher Education report.
Projects | Mar 16, 2022
Tomorrow’s STEM leaders get a state-of-the-art research complex
In February, North Carolina Agriculture and Technical State University (NC A&T) opened its new Engineering Research & Innovation Complex (ERIC).
University Buildings | Mar 7, 2022
A new facility can offer thousands of equine therapy sessions a year
At its new Spur campus in Denver, Colorado State University (CSU) will bring its expertise to the public by offering free educational experiences to visitors of all ages. Spur’s three buildings—Hydro, Terra, and Vida—will focus, respectively, on water, earth, and life.
