Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/373915
43 BizEd September/October 2014 43 BizEd September/October 2014 I f you're considering constructing a new facility for your business school, chances are good you're thinking about including a central atrium or meeting space, flexible classrooms, breakout rooms, state- of-the-art technology, and sustain- able design. You've already met with donors and upper-level administra- tors to explain that a new facility will help your school define its brand, strengthen ties to the commu- nity, and enhance student learning. But financing, designing, and constructing a new building can be daunting. For that reason, it helps to hear from those who have been through the process. Here, we offer advice from architect Joseph Tattoni of the design firm ikon.5 in Prince- ton, New Jersey, and representatives from three business schools that have recently opened new buildings: Rutgers Business School of New Brunswick and Newark, New Jer- sey; the E.J. Ourso College of Busi- ness at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge; and the Henry W. Bloch School of Business at the Uni- versity of Missouri in Kansas City. Must-Have Features Whether a new b-school facility has the swoops and curves of a Gehry building or the classic lines of Gothic architecture, if it's built in the 21st century it's likely to include these essential components: A variety of floor plans. As busi- ness schools incorporate experien- tial learning and flipped classrooms into their programs, they need teaching spaces that allow for more than lectures and case study discus- sions. At the Bloch School, that meant building flexible classrooms that can fluidly move between lec- ture formats and small-team discus- sions and that also allow users to interact in both high-tech and low- tech environments. The new building includes tra- ditional tiered classrooms, but they're untraditional in that each level is deep enough to accom- modate two rows of seating, says Robert A. Simmons, the associate vice chancellor of administration. That way, when students turn their desks to participate in small-group discussions, they aren't always looking up or down at their near- est neighbors. The tiered rooms also incorporate whiteboard and video screen technology on all four sides so that even when students are turned away from the front of the room, they can see any graph- ics posted on the screen without craning their necks. Additionally,