University of Kansas Breaks Ground on Entrepreneurship Hub

The University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kan., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the new KU Entrepreneurship Hub, according to university news. The Hub is part of the university’s School of Business and will include spaces for experiential learning and programming. The university partnered with PGAV Architects for the facility’s design, and construction has an estimated completion date of fall 2027.

The Hub will stand three stories and cover 29,608 square feet, university news reports. Construction is primarily donor-funded, kicked off by an anonymous $10-million lead gift; donors have contributed about $17.5 million toward the $21-million fundraising goal.

"The Entrepreneurship Hub is designed to be more than a building,” said KU School of Business Dean Jide Wintoki. “It will serve as a programmatic home and a convening point for KU students curious about entrepreneurship, whether they are just beginning to explore an idea or actively building a venture.”

The building’s design evokes the progress of a business concept from exploration to execution. The first floor will contain an ideation lab, a flexible multipurpose space, and a coffee shop as a student entry point. The second floor will feature study areas, classrooms, meeting rooms, and faculty offices. Finally, the third floor will play home to a content-creation and pitching space, a seminar room, offices and meeting rooms, and an outdoor terrace, university news reports.

“This facility will enhance the way we fulfill KU's mission of education, service and research while also enabling us to drive economic growth for our state and society,” said KU Chancellor Douglas A. Girod.

The university also partnered with Mar Lan Construction for general contracting services.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • How a Portable Sink Helped an Art Classroom Run More Smoothly

    Classroom design decisions can have outsized effects on instructional time and safety at schools juggling mismatched infrastructure, strict budgets, and crowded schedules — particularly in the arts. Between spilled paint and dirty brushes, art classes run smoother with a sink in the studio. But many schools don’t have a sink in every art classroom.

  • Rowan University, HPE Partner on New Learning Initiative

    Rowan University in Glassboro, N.J., recently announced that it has expanded its partnership with enterprise technology provider HPE to improve research capabilities and hands-on learning opportunities, according to a news release.