The new
Central Campus Classroom Building and Alexander G. Ruthven Renovation project is getting close to completion, at U of M. The original Ruthven building was built in 1928 and designed by Albert Kahn. HED collaborated with The S/L/A/M Collaborative for the new design work. At 100,000 SF of renovation, 34,000 SF of demolition (of a 1964 addition), & 135,000 of addition, and with a $150 million construction budget, this project is nothing to sneeze at. The project aims to address three challenges:
- Lack of large-format instructional space (on central / historic campus).
- What to do with a historic and beloved structure in need of reimagining and repurposing?
- Disconnect of university leadership and administration from the campus and student population.
The new addition will provide large-format, active learning classrooms and a large auditorium to serve a projected capacity of 10,000 students daily, while the historic Albert Kahn portion will house dry laboratory computational research space, a large multipurpose room, and administrative space to house the university’s central administration that is currently located in the Fleming Administration Building.
This is a tough design that had to respond to a variety of contexts and building styles, and I think it looks great.
Source:
U of M
Source:
HED
Source:
U of M
Source:
U of M