Michigan Ross Campus Wins One of The Nation’s Most Prestigious Architecture Awards

The Ross School of Business campus is among the winners of the 2018 American Architecture Awards, celebrating the best new buildings designed and constructed by American architects.

Selected by The Chicago Atheneaum Museum of Architecture and Design, the American Architecture Awards are the nation’s highest public awards given by a non-commercial, public arts and culture institution.

The Ross School of Business buildings awarded are those completed in phase II of the Ross campus construction project in 2016 and includes the newly constructed Blau Hall, the renovated Kresge Hall, and the recladded Wyly Hall.

Phase II of the project added 179,000 square feet to the Ross complex, adding many state of the art classrooms, collaborative meeting spaces, quiet study rooms, and office spaces.  

The Architects for the Ross project, Kohn Pedersen Fox, have a history of developing buildings that make contributions to their surrounding environment, and the Michigan Ross campus is no different.

Last year, the new and renovated buildings were awarded LEED Gold certification for their environmentally friendly features, including smarter ways to save water, innovative and energy efficient electricity solutions, and locally sourced and recycled building materials.

Other projects from Kohn Pedersen Fox include the Nanning Airport, in Nanning China; and One Vanderbilt, a skyscraper currently under construction in midtown Manhattan.

Melds Sleek Geometries With Practicality

A recent feature of the Michigan Ross campus in Metropolis Magazine described the buildings as a “thoughtfully choreographed dance of materials.” The outside of the buildings mix stone, glass, and a custom terra-cotta that gives the Ross campus a distinctive look that didn’t go unnoticed by the Awards committee.

“The American Architecture Awards are the nation’s highest public awards dedicated to cutting edge design, sustainability, functionality, and aesthetics that reflect the character of contemporary architecture of our times,” said Christian Narkiewicz-Laine, president of the The Chicago Athenaeum Museum.

“Each year, the Awards are judged against a range of criteria including design vision; innovation and originality; capacity to stimulate, engage and delight occupants and visitors; accessibility and sustainability; and how the building is used for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction.”

Learn more about the Michigan Ross Campus

Read Metropolis Magazine’s feature on the Ross buildings