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Architects: The Freelon Group Architects
- Area: 88000 ft²
- Year: 2011
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Photographs:Mark Herboth
Text description provided by the architects. The Academic Classroom Building at North Carolina A&T State University is a three-story multi-use classroom building to serve the entire spectrum of the University’s student body including the University Honors, University Studies and University International Program. The new facility will provide classrooms, offices, and a spacious central student lobby. Also included are supplementary support/flex spaces such as shared conference rooms for faculty and department use, faculty lounge, and informal student-faculty meeting spaces.
The primary elements of the building are the classrooms. With sixteen classrooms including a full Lecture Hall, three 128-seat classrooms, five 70-seat classrooms, three 48-seat classrooms, two computer classrooms and two distance learning classrooms, a variety of class and teaching types can be accommodated. Lighting and AV in the classrooms are state of the art and are optimized for the learning environment. The public areas include not only circulation, but also areas carefully designed to encourage collaborative learning and team building.
The focal point of the Academic Classroom Building is the main student lobby/atrium. This dynamic space is envisioned to be the central organizing element of the programmatic spaces and to provide the symbolic link between the student and faculty spaces. The design allows for informal student-faculty meeting spaces to be connected with the central atrium while still retaining some privacy for discussion and study. This central meeting space is to reinforce the collaborative learning environment which is the goal of the University.
