At the southwestern corner, the curved granite wall defines the two-story volume housing the student lounge and a café. Exposed steel trusses support the exterior wall to free the airy public space from the need for interior load-bearing columns.
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The floor plan is straightforward and orderly. On the first floor, the plan pushes outward to create a student lounge called the Commons and the adjoining Cyber Café. Abundantly lit with natural light, this place for informal study and impromptu social gathering is the heart of the building. The major circulation through the building starts here with an open stair rising through the two-story volume. Classrooms are organized in a row opposite a series of rooms for team meetings. A skylight above the stair further illuminates the entire volume, and frames views to the exterior of the third floor above. The plan delivers natural light to all major spaces, including the classrooms and team rooms. Daylighting also brightens the two fire stairs that terminate the east-west circulation spine, their glass facades separating the two-plan geometries. The third-floor corridor is light-filled too, though protected from direct sun exposure by the roof overhang. The majority of the south-facing facade, however, does not address solar heat gain. Each floor contains its own distinctive space. The social center of the first floor is the Commons, and views from the second level also focus on this space. Perched above the Commons and the main entry is the glass-enclosed MBA lounge, the second floor’s most significant space. On the third floor, the executive conference room has a notable design solution—a “football” shape that breaks the top level’s rectangular envelope. The narrow, jewel-box proportions of the interior led to its detailing with fabric-wrapped ceiling and wall panels, and a custom-built conference table.
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