Bold Moves by Audrey Maxwell, Assoc. AIA Project Business Leadership Building, Denton Client University of North Texas System Architects Polshek Partnership (now Ennead Architects) with Jacobs Engineering Group Design Team Kevin McClurkan, AIA; Robert Young, AIA; Jena Rimkus; Bryan Floth, AIA; Robert Mooney, AIA; Nathan Carruth, AIA Photographers Thomas McConnell and Aislinn Weidlele
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n a state replete with universities, the University of North Texas (UNT) is often overlooked. Located just north of the bustling Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Denton, UNT is most notable locally for its music program and as a commuter campus. Over the last several years, however, the university has been making a quiet comeback. In 2005, Sasaki Associates issued the Denton Campus Master Plan as part of an effort to boost enrollment, broaden its reputation, and launch a building campaign to bring the campus into the 21st century. The plan cataloged existing campus conditions and summarized the university’s goals for new housing, modern educational facilities, and a more pedestrianfriendly environment. The campus has been bustling with construction activity since. New buildings completed over the last several years include a stadium, a performing arts center, and an events center. Although several of the new buildings departed from existing campus architectural styles, they were primarily limited to the university’s periphery — until the new Business Leadership Building (BLB) broke ground in the heart of campus. The BLB is an anomaly,
establishing a distinctive typology in the midst of a part postmodern, part Georgian Revival campus. The building’s final form evolved from a deliberate design approach carried out by the Ennead Architects/Jacobs Engineering Group team. When asked to participate in a planning charrette with the building committee as part of the final selection process, the team was more than enthusiastic. Kevin McClurkan, AIA, management partner at Ennead noted, “It was a way for us to distinguish ourselves from the other prize pigs at the fair.” Recognizing the risk they were taking, they arrived with a box of model building supplies, foam blocks, and trace paper. McClurkan recalled telling the committee: “This is the first design meeting. You’re a partner in this process. We expect you to spend the next four hours working with us.” With that, they put the committee to work, hoping to prove the value of their collaborative process. Dr. Finley Graves, dean of the College of Business, was convinced. “There was another finalist who had done a lot of business buildings,” he said. “But they came in with canned models and said, ‘Which one would you like?’ Polshek Partnership Architects (now Ennead Architects) came in with Styrofoam blocks and said, ‘Now tell us what you want and we’ll put it together.’ So, which one would you choose?”
11/12 2013
Texas Architect 75