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
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 5 .jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%205%20.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 2 .jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%202%20.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 7.jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%207.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 6.jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%206.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 3.jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%203.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 4.jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%204.jpeg)
![Kettering University Learning Commons designed by Stantec, Jason Keen Photography 37.jpeg](/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kettering%20University%20Learning%20Commons%20designed%20by%20Stantec%2C%20Jason%20Keen%20Photography%2037.jpeg)
Related Stories
| Jul 18, 2014
Contractors warm up to new technologies, invent new management schemes [2014 Giants 300 Report]
“UAV.” “LATISTA.” “CMST.” If BD+C Giants 300 contractors have anything to say about it, these new terms may someday be as well known as “BIM” or “LEED.” Here’s a sampling of what Giant GCs and CMs are doing by way of technological and managerial innovation.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Construction Management Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, Barton Malow, Hill International top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest construction management and project management firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Contractors [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Turner, Whiting-Turner, Skanska top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest contractors in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Engineering firms look to bolster growth through new services, technology [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Following solid revenue growth in 2013, the majority of U.S.-based engineering and engineering/architecture firms expect more of the same this year, according to BD+C’s 2014 Giants 300 report.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering/Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Jacobs, AECOM, Parsons Brinckerhoff top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering/architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Engineering Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Fluor, Arup, Day & Zimmermann top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest engineering firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
Top Architecture Firms [2014 Giants 300 Report]
Gensler, Perkins+Will, NBBJ top Building Design+Construction's 2014 ranking of the largest architecture firms in the United States.
| Jul 18, 2014
2014 Giants 300 Report
Building Design+Construction magazine's annual ranking the nation's largest architecture, engineering, and construction firms in the U.S.
| Jul 11, 2014
$44.5 million Centennial Hall opens at University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
Centennial Hall houses the College of Education and Human Sciences and consolidates teacher education. It is the first new academic building on the UW-Eau Claire campus in more than 30 years.
| Jul 10, 2014
Berkeley Lab opens 'world's most comprehensive building efficiency simulator'
DOE’s new FLEXLAB is a first-of-its-kind simulator that lets users test energy-efficient building systems individually or as an integrated system, under real-world conditions.