The new studio building for the University of Miami School of Architecture provides a spaces conducive to learning and studying, but also serves as a teaching tool by illustrating some of the basic tenets of modern architecture. The building is located at the center of a campus intersection, creating a plaza and adjoining pathway that act as a link from the campus to the Miami Metrorail. The southern wall peels away to address the portico of the existing auditorium and gallery. Meanwhile, the dropping corner of the roof over the southernmost tip of the building shades the interior space from the strongest sunlight.
Exposing the materials and building systems on the exterior and interior of the building is a learning tool for students and a convenient example for teachers. Demonstrating efficient use of common, inexpensive construction materials such as concrete with the wood formwork pattern as a feature, a curtain wall system, steel pipe columns, polished concrete floors is a way for students to see these common materials as finished products not hidden beneath drywall and other cladding. The curving roof and wall planes exemplify the capabilities and limits of concrete construction. The building has tall and flexible spaces, both indoors and outdoors .Narrow steel pipe columns support the 17’2” high concrete ceilings to create a sense of openness and allow natural light to permeate throughout the building. Operable windows encourage fresh air and reduced use of air conditioning.
The studio space is based on a twenty-five foot square - a module of four student desks - repeated to total 14,548 square feet. The main entrance spills into an informal lobby and continues as a corridor that runs through the studios and out a garage door into the rear access road. The corridor has movable boards and model podiums for informal critiques or exhibitions. The studios on the south side of the circulation passage are intended for the Design-Build studio courses and have direct access to the outdoor work area that is 25 feet deep and covered by the cantilevering roof overhead. Within the overall interior space, there are smaller volumes including the fabrication lab, which punctures the southern glass facade. The East and West walls of the central volume are felt-clad for students to pin up work. The open plan accommodates seventy-six desks and is adaptable to future wok/study styles. The faculty offices are also moveable and can be redesigned and rebuilt by students each year, making a setting for creativity and collaboration.
