Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Illinois Breaks Ground on $105M Business School

  • By Matt Jones
  • 04/20/23

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in Champaign, Ill., recently broke ground on a new facility for the Gies College of Business, according to local news. Wymer Hall, named after alumnus Steven S. Wymer—who donated $25 million towards the building’s construction—will measure in at 100,000 square feet and will cost an estimated $105 million. The building is scheduled for completion by the end of 2024, local news reports.

According to the university website, the hybrid educational facility will play home to collaboration spaces, flexible and traditional classrooms, informal learning spaces, content creation studios, and administrative space. Its expanded studio spaces and recording facilities will ease the creation of online courses and programs for the entire campus.

“The future of business education will include online, residential, and hybrid learning,” said Jeffrey R. Brown, business professor, in a news release. This new facility is designed for the future and with that vision in mind. Even what we think of as ‘traditional’ classrooms will be able to support all types of learning and that’s going to enable us to deliver a powerful education in exciting new ways.”

Amenities will include a 200-seat auditorium, two 80-seat classrooms, and four 60-seat classrooms; two sound stages five black-box studios, and six control booths; 18 meeting and collaboration spaces; and 84 office spaces, according to the university website.

The university partnered with LMN Architects and Booth Hansen for the project’s design.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.

  • Montclair State University Debuts New VR Facility

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently announced the completion of a new virtual reality learning facility developed in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, according to a news release. The 2,450-square-foot lab space is inside the College of Communication and Media building and will serve students pursuing careers in digital media, virtual reality, and content creation.

  • California District Opens New Continuation High School

    The Fort Bragg Unified School District (FBUSD) in Fort Bragg, Calif., recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for Noyo High School, a continuation high school that provides alternative education options for students in grades 6–12, according to a news release. The district partnered with Quattrochi Kwok Architects for design and FRC Inc. for construction, and the project’s funding came from Local Bond Measure B.

  • DLR Group Hires Three for Higher Education Practice

    Integrated design firm DLR Group recently announced that it has brought three new hires on board to help shape its higher education practice in California and the northeast, according to a press release.