Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) and BNIM have unveiled their design for a new mass timber cube structure called the Makers’ KUbe for the University of Kansas School of Architecture & Design.
A six-story, 50,000-sf building for learning and collaboration, the light-filled KUbe will house studio and teaching space, 3D-printing and robotic labs, and a ground-level cafe, all organized around a central core. Developed in response to and in collaboration with the school’s students, faculty, and board, the design reduces the use of materials and carbon-intensive concrete.
The KUbe will showcase sustainable practices through its mass timber diagrid frame, which is inspired by traditional Japanese joinery techniques and engineered by structural engineer StructureCraft. The mass timber construction uses tight-fit dowels and notched glulam (glue laminated timber) to form an all-wood mass timber structure with columns and beams that run diagonally, without steel plates or fasteners.
Transparent façade showcases mass timber building
The façade is a mass timber structure enclosed in glass. Its mix of transparent and opaque insulated glass puts the school’s creativity on display while also offering privacy and reducing glare.
“The Makers’ KUbe is conceived as a showcase in timber tectonics, traditional joinery, robotic manufacturing, and sustainable materials. The timber bones of the building are exposed by stripping away all applied finishes—elevating structure to expression,” Bjarke Ingels, Founder and Creative Director, Bjarke Ingels Group, said in a statement.
The project will consolidate all of the university’s architecture and design programs into three interconnected buildings by tying together the new KUbe with the existing Marvin Hall from 1908 and Chalmers Hall from 1978. Marvin Hall’s stone façade and interior spaces will be preserved, while Chalmers Hall will be renovated to allow in more daylight.
The Makers’ KUbe and Chalmers Hall will draw energy from rooftop photovoltaic panels. Rainwater accumulated on the KUbe’s roof will be stored and used to irrigate the site’s landscaping, which includes native species that reduce water needs.
On the Building Team:
Owner: University of Kansas
Design architect: BIG (Bjarke Ingels Group)
Collaborating architect: BNIM
MEP engineer: Smith & Boucher
Structural engineer (timber): StructureCraft
Structural engineer (existing building, enclosure): Walter P Moore
Related Stories
University Buildings | Dec 8, 2023
Yale University breaks ground on nation's largest Living Building student housing complex
A groundbreaking on Oct. 11 kicked off a project aiming to construct the largest Living Building Challenge-certified residence on a university campus. The Living Village, a 45,000 sf home for Yale University Divinity School graduate students, “will make an ecological statement about the need to build in harmony with the natural world while training students to become ‘apostles of the environment’,” according to Bruner/Cott, which is leading the design team that includes Höweler + Yoon Architecture and Andropogon Associates.
Higher Education | Nov 21, 2023
UPitt at Bradford opens new Engineering & Information Technologies Building
The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford recently opened a new engineering and information technology building that adds urgently needed lab and instructional space to the campus.
Education Facilities | Nov 9, 2023
Oakland schools’ central kitchen cooks up lessons along with 30,000 meals daily
CAW Architects recently completed a facility for the Oakland, Calif., school district that feeds students and teaches them how to grow, harvest, and cook produce grown onsite. The production kitchen at the Unified School District Central Kitchen, Instructional Farm, and Education Center, (“The Center”) prepares and distributes about 30,000 meals a day for district schools lacking their own kitchens.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 170 K-12 School Architecture Firms for 2023
PBK Architects, Huckabee, DLR Group, VLK Architects, and Stantec top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 100 K-12 School Construction Firms for 2023
CORE Construction, Gilbane, Balfour Beatty, Skanska USA, and Adolfson & Peterson top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Oct 30, 2023
Top 80 K-12 School Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, CMTA, Jacobs, WSP, and IMEG head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest K-12 school building engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Higher Education | Oct 10, 2023
Tracking the carbon footprint of higher education campuses in the era of online learning
With more effective use of their facilities, streamlining of administration, and thoughtful adoption of high-quality online learning, colleges and universities can raise enrollment by at least 30%, reducing their carbon footprint per student by 11% and lowering their cost per student by 15% with the same level of instruction and better student support.
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 80 University Building Engineering Firms for 2023
AECOM, Jacobs, BR+A, and Salas O'Brien head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
Giants 400 | Sep 28, 2023
Top 100 University Building Construction Firms for 2023
Turner Construction, Whiting-Turner Contracting Co., STO Building Group, Suffolk Construction, and Skanska USA top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest university sector contractors and construction management firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report. Note: This ranking includes revenue for all university/college-related buildings except student residence halls, sports/recreation facilities, laboratories, S+T-related buildings, parking facilities, and performing arts centers (revenue for those buildings are reported in their respective Giants 400 ranking).
University Buildings | Sep 27, 2023
Top 170 University Building Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, CannonDesign, Page Southerland Page, SmithGroup, and Ayers Saint Gross top the ranking of the nation's largest university sector architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
