On April 1, construction began on a three-story, 74,000-sf expansion of Lehigh University’s College of Business in Bethlehem, Pa. This project was supposed to begin last year but got delayed by the COVID-19 outbreak. The building is scheduled for completion in the Fall of 2022.
Since the Rauch Business Center opened in 1991, the College has seen a 43% increase in enrollment and 38% increase in faculty. New programs and courses of study have been added, including a FinTech minor, interdisciplinary initiatives majors and executive education.
According to Lehigh, the new building—which replaces a parking lot and two admin buildings—is part of Lehigh’s Path to Prominence initiative to add students and scholars, and to spark innovation. The building will sit catty-corner the existing Rauch Business Center. It will accommodate classes in the College of Business’s undergraduate and graduate programs and provide 16 additional teaching spaces, all of which will be equipped to support remote and hybrid learning.
DESIGN INCLUDES NEW OUTDOOR PLAZA
The new building, called the Lehigh University College of Business, will provide space for an expanded Bosland Financial Services Lab, a two-room Data Analytics Lab, and a Rauch Media and Communications Lab to support oral, written and digital communications classes. A behavioral lab will allow for observation and subject interviews, and there will be business innovation/incubator space for entrepreneurial exploration. The new building will also become the home for the Vistex Institute for Executive Learning & Research.
According to the American School & University website, the business incubator will be available for students to develop and pitch startups. It will include a mock trading floor equipped with Bloomberg terminals, a production studio, and a corporate-style conferencing center.
The design also establishes a landscaped pedestrian plaza with an informal gathering space where students can exchange ideas, eat lunch, or relax after class. An atrium with double- and triple-height storefront windows overlooks the plaza, creating interconnections between the building and the campus beyond.
“I think this is really going to help to knit together the College of Business, Rauch Business Center, and Zoellner Arts Center, pulling those into a more coherent campus experience,” says Brent Stringfellow, University Architect and Associate Vice President of Facilities.
A corporate-style conference room is one of the many features of the expansion.
REAL-WORLD EDUCATION
The $38.2 million project is designed by Voith & Mactavish Architects (VMA) to achieve LEED Silver certification. “New findings in pedagogy show that students learn best when they are engaged in discovering solutions for open-ended, real-world problems. With spaces like the business incubator and mock trading floor, we are creating places where professors can inspire students to test, explore, and discover,” says Sennah Loftus, Associate Principal at VMA and lead designer for the project.
BD+C confirmed that the building team includes Quadratus Construction Management (CM), Langan Engineering (CE), Stephen Stimson Associates (landscape architect), Keast & Hood (SE), Bruce E. Brooks & Associates (MEP/FP), Marshall/KMK Acoustics (acoustics/AV/IT), TBS Services (building envelope consultant) Zipf Associates (elevator consultant), Roll Barresi & Associates (signage consultant), and Becker & Frondorf (cost estimator). Lehigh University is the developer and owner.
Future plans call for the existing Rauch Business Center to be expanded and renovated.
Related Stories
Higher Education | Aug 22, 2023
How boldly uniting divergent disciplines boosts students’ career viability
CannonDesign's Charles Smith and Patricia Bou argue that spaces designed for interdisciplinary learning will help fuel a strong, resilient generation of students in an ever-changing economy.
Higher Education | Aug 7, 2023
Building a better academic workplace
Gensler's David Craig and Melany Park show how agile, efficient workplaces bring university faculty and staff closer together while supporting individual needs.
University Buildings | Aug 7, 2023
Eight-story Vancouver Community College building dedicated to clean energy, electric vehicle education
The Centre for Clean Energy and Automotive Innovation, to be designed by Stantec, will house classrooms, labs, a library and learning center, an Indigenous gathering space, administrative offices, and multiple collaborative learning spaces.
Market Data | Aug 1, 2023
Nonresidential construction spending increases slightly in June
National nonresidential construction spending increased 0.1% in June, according to an Associated Builders and Contractors analysis of data published today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending is up 18% over the past 12 months. On a seasonally adjusted annualized basis, nonresidential spending totaled $1.07 trillion in June.
Market Data | Jul 24, 2023
Leading economists call for 2% increase in building construction spending in 2024
Following a 19.7% surge in spending for commercial, institutional, and industrial buildings in 2023, leading construction industry economists expect spending growth to come back to earth in 2024, according to the July 2023 AIA Consensus Construction Forecast Panel.
Mass Timber | Jul 11, 2023
5 solutions to acoustic issues in mass timber buildings
For all its advantages, mass timber also has a less-heralded quality: its acoustic challenges. Exposed wood ceilings and floors have led to issues with excessive noise. Mass timber experts offer practical solutions to the top five acoustic issues in mass timber buildings.
Adaptive Reuse | Jul 6, 2023
The responsibility of adapting historic university buildings
Shepley Bulfinch's David Whitehill, AIA, believes the adaptive reuse of historic university buildings is not a matter of sentimentality but of practicality, progress, and preservation.
University Buildings | Jun 26, 2023
Univ. of Calif. Riverside’s plant research facility enables year-round plant growth
The University of California, Riverside’s new plant research facility, a state-of-the-art greenhouse with best-in-class research and climate control technologies, recently held its grand opening. Construction of the two-story, 30,000 sf facility was completed in 2021. It then went through two years of preparation and testing.
University Buildings | Jun 26, 2023
Addition by subtraction: The value of open space on higher education campuses
Creating a meaningful academic and student life experience on university and college campuses does not always mean adding a new building. A new or resurrected campus quad, recreational fields, gardens, and other greenspaces can tie a campus together, writes Sean Rosebrugh, AIA, LEED AP, HMC Architects' Higher Education Practice Leader.
Engineers | Jun 14, 2023
The high cost of low maintenance
Walter P Moore’s Javier Balma, PhD, PE, SE, and Webb Wright, PE, identify the primary causes of engineering failures, define proactive versus reactive maintenance, recognize the reasons for deferred maintenance, and identify the financial and safety risks related to deferred maintenance.
