bjarke ingels group designs domino-like copper façade for business school in massachusetts

bjarke ingels group (BIG) has teamed up with architect of record goody clancy to expand and partially renovate the isenberg school of management at the university of massachusetts amherst. the project, which was first unveiled in 2016, nearly doubles the school’s current floor area — adding 70,000 square feet (6,500 sqm) of study and social space to one of the top-30 public business schools in the united states. the scheme also introduces new facilities for more than 150 staff and 5,000 students in undergraduate, master’s, and PhD programs.

image by laurian ghinitoiu (also main image)

in 2015, BIG and goody clancy were commissioned to design a flexible space that would inspire and facilitate collaboration among students. the new structure — the ‘business innovation hub’ — directly extends the school’s existing building in a wide circular loop that consolidates the isenberg’s faculty and staff under one roof. prominently situated near the entrance to the campus, the building is wrapped in straight, vertical pillars that gradually slope downward. this domino-effect creates a triangular glass entrance that welcomes staff, students, and visitors.

image by max touhey

upon entering, students and faculty arrive at the ‘learning commons’ where daylight illuminates the multi-story atrium. this space, where students are able to learn, network, or relax, can also serve as an event venue for guest speakers, award ceremonies, banquets, and career fairs. throughout the scheme, spaces have been designed with student interaction in mind: chairs adorn the corridors, while benches are affixed to the stairway. on the second and third floors, students and staff occupy the innovation labs, advising spaces, and faculty offices.

image by max touhey

the inner spaces of the extension face a circular courtyard, where an open-air garden and stone benches create a setting for collaboration and contemplation. the courtyard connects back to the campus via two pathways between the original isenberg building and the business innovation hub. the buildings are fused by two bridges above the paths: the large bridge cloaked in copper becomes the gateway to the courtyard while the small bridge glazed with glass forms a visual continuity around the interior courtyard.

image by laurian ghinitoiu

‘the new business innovation hub at the isenberg school of management is conceived as an extension of both the building and the campus mall,’ says bjarke ingels, founder & creative director, BIG. ‘the linear structure is bent to form a full loop framing an internal courtyard for the life of the students. the façade is pulled away in a domino effect to create a generous invitation from the haigis mall to the learning commons. the mall and the courtyard — inside and outside form a forum for the students, the faculty and the profession to meet, mingle and mix society and academia.’

image by max touhey

‘there’s no other building at UMass amherst that’s going to look remotely like this,’ adds roger goldstein, principal, goody clancy. ‘isenberg is trying to raise its profile among peer institutions. we have no doubt this will help isenberg attract the best and brightest faculty and students.’

image by max touhey

image by max touhey

image by laurian ghinitoiu

image by laurian ghinitoiu

image by laurian ghinitoiu

image by laurian ghinitoiu

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project info:

name: isenberg school of management business innovation hub
location: amherst, massachusetts, USA
date: april 12, 2019
program: education
status: completed
size: 6,500 sqm (70,000 sqf)
project type: invited competition
client: university of massachusetts building authority

architect: BIG-bjarke ingels group
collaborators: goody clancy architects, richmond so engineers, BIG IDEAS, arup, nitsch, VAV, towers golde, haley & aldrich, acentech, HLB, SGH, PEER, WIL-SPEC, VGA, lerch bates, LN consulting, mohar designs
partners-in-charge: bjarke ingels, thomas christoffersen, beat schenk, daniel sundlin
project leaders: yu inamoto, pauline lavie-luong, hung kai liao
team: alice cladet, amina blacksher, barbara stallone, cheyenne vandevoorde, daniel kidd, davide maggio, deborah campbell, denys kozak, derek wong, domenic schmid, douglass alligood, elena bresciani, emily mohr, fabian lorenz, francesca portesine, ibrahim salman, jan leenknegt, justyna mydlak, kai-uwe bergmann, ku hun chung, linda halim, lucas hong, manon otto, maria eugenia dominguez, mustafa khan, nicolas gustin, pei pei yang, peter lee, seoyoung shin, simon lee, terrence chew, tianqi zhang, yixin li
BIG ideas: tore banke, yehezkiel wiliardy, kristoffer negendahl