The University of Kansas (KU) School of Architecture & Design announced that it has commissioned Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) to create site plans and concept designs to better link the Lawrence, Kansas school’s on- and off-campus buildings.
In recent years enrollment numbers at the university have steadily increased and the school has expanded its program offerings. These latest renovations and upgrades to campus facilities and buildings will take into account this growth while allowing for more interdisciplinary opportunities and student support services. The forthcoming design from BIG is a component of KU’s 2024 Master Plan. According to press materials from KU, “BIG will develop a plan that visualizes a redesigned home for the school that respects the established character of the site while also being optimized for innovative teaching and research.”
Right now, the majority of the architecture and design school’s programs, facilities, and offices are in two adjacent structures, Marvin and Chalmers Halls, so one of the project goals is to strengthen the connection between the buildings.
“Our two departments have long had a special place on Jayhawk Boulevard. BIG’s response to our facility needs will celebrate this rich history while also helping us to envision new opportunities to teach and support students,” Dean Mahbub Rashid said in a press release. “Their team’s enthusiasm for the project, the firm’s record of forward-thinking design excellence and commitment to an inclusive, equitable, and sustainable future makes them a perfect partner for us.”
“For an architect, each project is kicked off with a crash course seeking to educate ourselves in an entirely new field, because we rarely design for other architects (they tend to do that themselves). In this case—with our first design for a school of architecture and design—I feel like I have been preparing for this on a daily basis for the last three decades,” BIG Founder and Creative Director Bjarke Ingels added. “We want to create the physical framework for future generations of Kansas form-givers, architects, and designers—a space that provokes unexpected encounters, triggers critical conversations, and builds new bridges between discourses and skill sets, arts, crafts, and technologies. The design work is just about to begin, even if my research for it started a generation ago.”
On March 10, the design team was on-site at KU to study the campus and workshop ideas with students, faculty, and staff. The team delivered a public presentation on the concept and held a Q&A session. More information can be found here.
On April 13 and 14, the project team will present concept designs to university officials as well as the School of Architecture & Design’s advisory board. Renderings and additional documentation on the design will be presented in June.
