Workshop Selected for Georgia Tech Design Competition

After a two-phase selection process, Workshop Architects has been named as one of three finalists for the Ideas Competition organized by the Georgia Institute of Technology for the design of its new Campus Center. Workshop is teamed with the Atlanta offices of Gilbane and Cooper Carry for this design-build project. Workshop completed the strategic visioning study for Campus Center in 2015. As past partners of Georgia Tech, we could not be more thrilled to see the Institute advance toward the the goal of creating a new Campus Center. We know that the process has been a long, thoughtful, labor of love from members of the Institute at every level. 

Oakland University Breaks Ground on Oakland Center Renovation

In early April, Oakland University kicked off construction of the renovation and addition to Oakland Center, which will eventually give students much-needed space for recreation, organization, and dining. Read more from the Oakland Press. 

Workshop Moves in Bold New Direction

Workshop Architects hires higher education leader Dr. Loren Rullman to launch organizational strategy and advising practice.

Milwaukee, WI (March 16, 2017) Workshop Architects, a nationally regarded architecture, planning, and consulting firm, announced today the hiring of noted higher education leader Loren J. Rullman, Ph.D. Dr. Rullman joins the design firm after a distinguished 30-year career in university administration, teaching, and research.
 
“Colleges and universities are increasingly asking for assistance with strategic planning, organizational assessment, leadership advising, business planning, and aligning decision making with vision,” said Jan van den Kieboom, AIA, Workshop’s Founding Principal.  “Loren’s experience supervising staff, overseeing operations, developing facilities, managing change, and teaching students will add tremendous expertise to our already talented team of designers, planners, researchers, and community leaders.”
 
Rullman is currently Associate Vice President for Student Life at the University of Michigan. For the last decade, he has been responsible for over 600 staff; eight departments; a $150 million budget; served on the campus master planning committee; and guided $1 billion in construction and renovation for housing, dining, recreation, student center, and multicultural facility projects. He has been a presenter at over 40 conferences and an author of 12 publications, served on the Board of Directors for both the Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education and the Association of College Unions International, and served as a graduate program coordinator and adjunct faculty for Concordia University. In 2011, Rullman and van den Kieboom organized a national Summit on Community comprised of thought leaders from 10 higher education associations.

“I am really passionate about uncovering aspirations, aligning strategies, and unlocking potential in people, places, and organizations,” said Loren Rullman.  “Through our collaboration on facility projects, research efforts, and conference presentations, I have come to appreciate how unique Workshop is – they know great design can help unlock an organization’s potential, especially when supported by clear purpose and superb leadership. I believe we’ll offer our clients unmatched assistance across all these areas, and I am thrilled to join this team.” - Loren Rullman, Ph.D.
 

Rullman served in similar roles previously at Indiana University, Southeast Missouri State University, and University of Hartford, and holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Missouri – St. Louis, a master’s degree in education from Indiana University, and a bachelor’s degree in Communication from Valparaiso University.

Visit Workshop at ACUI in Philly

Last year, we celebrated our 20th year in practice with all of our friends and partners at ACUI in New Orleans. This year, we are thrilled as always to join the great community we've become part of. Join us at Booth #404 at The Marriott in Downtown Philadelphia Convention Center as we ring in our 21st anniversary with some exciting news! Visit us to find out what's brewing! Read more at acui.org/events and look for our banners!

Workshop Recognized for Research Excellence for Michigan Union Renovation

Workshop Architects earned the Environmental Design Research Association’s 2017 Certificate of Research Excellence for its social research effort, Campus Capital Framework: Mapping Meaning to Inform the Michigan Union Renovation. The EDRA CORE program is devoted to recognizing and celebrating exceptional environmental design research as applied to design projects. Under this program, Certificates of Research Excellence are issued to rigorous and impactful, practice-based design research that sparks innovation and promotes best practice in environmental design.

The Campus Capital Framework is an online, participatory mapping survey that assessed the significance that students attribute to the Michigan Union and other important places on campus. The framework provides a means to measure student perceptions of a university’s physical campus in terms of places that help generate four forms of capital: (1) social, (2) intellectual, (3) symbolic, and (4) restorative. Results showed that the Michigan Union not only ranks among the most significant places on campus, but is also the only place that ranked among the top settings for each form of capital. These findings provided administrators and designers with a baseline measure of place meaning on campus for the Michigan Union and future campus planning projects, and a basis for future post-occupancy evaluation.

Workshop’s Brian Schermer, PhD, AIA served as principal investigator. Co-recipients of the award include Workshop's Jan van den Kieboom, AIA, Peter van den Kieboom AIA, Nick Robinson, AIA, and Sweta Meier, AIA. All recipients of CORE awards will be recognized at the EDRA48Madison conference, May 31-June 3

EDRA is a collaborative, multidisciplinary community dedicated to connecting theory, research, teaching, and practice to recognize, create and advocate for environments that are responsive to diverse human needs. Read the EDRA.org article for more information about the award and the organization.

Workshop's Big Week at Florida State

This week, Florida State kicked off their Oglesby Union Renovation Project. Members of the Workshop design team, in collaboration with Architects: Lewis + Whitlock, spent the week on campus engaging with the FSU community, gathering input from students and staff, and conducting participatory design workshops. The master planning process will continue with a second campus visit in mid-February.

Marquette University Breaks Ground for New Residence Hall

Workshop was proud to work with Baltimore's Design Collective on designing Marquette University's first new residence hall in 50 years. Read about the event from Marquette Today.

Workshop Hosts Historic Milwaukee Lecture Series

Workshop Architects hosted two lectures on behalf of Historic Milwaukee, Inc., a non-profit preservation advocacy organization "dedicated to increasing awareness of, and commitment to, Milwaukee’s history, architecture, and the preservation of our built environment" (Historic Milwaukee's About page). 

As part of a training program for volunteer history tour guides, Historic Milwaukee, Inc. held lectures in the Workshop Studio in Walker's Point. The first was held on September 26th and featured Milwaukee's most credited local historian, John Gurda. The second, on October 5th, featured Chris Szczesny-Adams, Professor in Art History at MIAD, who's scholarly focus is nineteenth and twentieth century architecture, art, and material culture. 

NIU Moves Forward With Holmes Renovation

Holmes Student Center at Northern Illinois University will undergo a major renovation and addition, the first phase of which - renovation of the first floor - has been approved by the Illinois Board of Education. Workshop provided planning, programming, and conceptual design services for NIU's Master Plan, focusing on revitalizing Holmes Student Center to once again be the center of student life on campus. Read more about the project from NIU's student-produced media outlet, Northern Star, and read about Workshop's Master Plan for NIU here. 

U of M Regents Vote to Move Forward on Michigan Union

The University of Michigan Board of Regents voted on Thursday to move forward with an extensive renovation of the iconic Michigan Union, the third oldest college union in the United States. Read more about the project at UMich''s The University Record here.

UW – Madison and Workshop Celebrate Union South's Fifth Year

Five years ago, an enormous crowd of students stood outside the main doors of Union South awaiting the ribbon cutting. The doors opened and students, alumni, and members of the Madison community poured in to explore their brand new student union. Within minutes, people started finding a comfortable spot – their spot. It was as if they had known the building all their lives, which was no accident. Workshop Architects’ collaborative, research-infused design approach helped to decode the social DNA of the UW–Madison campus, resulting in a place that Badgers and the surrounding community alike would immediately find endearing. Members of the design team from Workshop will host a learning session to discuss the research and design methods that contribute to Union South's continued success. Click here for some incredible highlights from the past 5 years at Union South and more information regarding the celebration!

Workshop Hosts Ex Fabula and Zeidler Center for Public Dialogue

Workshop Architects had the honor of hosting an incredibly thoughtful and dynamic discussion surrounding the concept of white privilege. Ex Fabula invited community members into our studio and shared stories while Frank Zeidler Center for Public Discussion facilitated a number of moderated talks among small groups to further interrogate the topic. You can read more about the event and their other past and future events on their website. Photos courtesy of Art Montes. 

Workshop Begins Work on the Iconic Michigan Union

Workshop Architects, along with partners IDS and Hartman-Cox Architects, was selected for the programming and design phases for the renovation of the historic Michigan Union at the University of Michigan. Conceived on the cusp of the student union movement and designed in 1915 by the Chicago firm, Pond & Pond Architects, the Michigan Union stands today as one of the foremost institutional and architectural examples of a true campus center. That it is still cherished as a campus icon is testimony to the spirit of the architecture and the ideas behind its creation. We share the University of Michigan's commitment to the preservation and renewal of the Michigan Union as a vital center for campus community, and we are honored to partner with them on this extraordinary project.

K-State Student Union Renovation Breaks Ground

The K-State campus community is excited for construction to begin on their Union renovation! Workshop completed the K-State Student Union Master Plan in early 2014 and was hired to continue and implement design in fall of last year. The project aims to transform the Union into a welcoming and socially/economically thriving facility that will be able to meet the demands of the future. Functions and amenities will be added and be cohesive with the building's overall program, better access and views to nearby campus spaces will be achieved and the building can become a true campus icon; a comfortable and inviting space that will serve as the major social hub of campus. 

We Are Moving!

Nearly every one of our projects presents a new way of thinking about the value of social space, technology, and hyper-flexible components. When it came to designing our own Workshop Studio, we created a place that is conducive to the playfulness, creativity, and innovation embodied in our practice and culture. A ventilated shop, which is enclosed by a glass garage door, anchors one end of the studio. It is fully equipped with 3D printers, a flatbed CO2 laser cutter and multi-media printing. To maximize work flow and flexibility, we designed and fabricated 30 fully mobile shop tables, which can serve as computer workstations, conference tables, workbenches, model building tables, and collaborative design hubs. In order to maximize flexibility, all power and data lines run below a raised steel floor.  A permanent, 50-foot work bar spans over half of the length of the studio, offers a perfect venue for meetings, hot-desking, gathering in the kitchen, and showcasing the products we create. We can transform our studio in a matter of minutes, from a maker/experimentation lab and production work environment to a large event space and formal presentation venue. Our news studio reflects the values we embody in our practice: collaboration, creativity, and craft. It is a special place that helps us do work that we love to do!

"Wellness and the Well-Integrated Campus" Sparks Conversation at ACUI

Jan van den Kieboom, Founder and Principal at Workshop Architects moderated a session titled "Wellness and the Well-Integrated Campus" at the 2015 ACUI conference in San Antonio, Texas. The panelists included student life leaders Loren Rullman from University of Michigan, Brian Fremeau from University of Notre Dame, and Kim Harrington-Pete from Georgia Institute of Technology. The panelists presented three different wellness initiatives on their respective campuses: Notre Dame's Campus Crossroads project rethinks both organization and architectural boundaries between student recreation and the student union; Michigan's integrative organizing strategies are creating new synergies and shaping both programmatic and future facility planning; and Georgia Tech's current study for improvements to its student center has served as a catalyst for vitality studies that look at the whole campus as the unit of analysis. 

Notre Dame's Groundbreaking Student Life Project is Underway

This week, the University of Notre Dame broke ground on the Campus Crossroads project that will wrap the existing iconic stadium with 750,000 square feet of academic, recreation, and student life space. Workshop is proud to have partnered with SLAM Collaborative, 360 Architecture (now HOK), and RATIO Architects to design the Duncan Student Center component of this expansion.

This new two-story student center is interwoven with two recreation sports levels above, creating four levels of the most social and active student zones in the development. The main level includes varied dining environments, active lounges, and an inviting coffee house/programming venue with views of a soaring climbing wall above. The second level adds rooms for media-focused student organizations, meeting and conference functions, and offices for student services, all overlooking active social spaces below. On game days, the Student Center will transform to accommodate the needs of a broader public audience, as the stadium will expand to accommodate approximately 84,000 visitors.

The largest building project in Notre Dame’s history, construction for the facility is expected to wrap-up around fall of 2017. Follow the construction progress on the University’s webcams.

MSU Moorhead Prepares for Comstock Memorial Union Renovation

After a process that began with planning and pre-design efforts in 2012, Minnesota State University Moorhead is preparing for the extensive renovation of the CMU (Comstock Memorial Student Union). CMU, originally constructed in the late 60's, has been untouched since its last renovation in 1992. Read about it in MSUM's The Advocate here.

Workshop Sponsors Challenge for College Students to Launch "The Commons"

Workshop Architects pitched their challenge last Friday night at the forefront of an amazing launch weekend for the Milwaukee Commons! The student group that accepted the challenge teamed with Workshop to brainstorm a collaborative space for The Commons; their canvas was the 4,000 square foot space located in Milwaukee's Walker's Point neighborhood. At the close of a long and labor intensive (but incredibly fun!) weekend, 10 students from various colleges and universities around Wisconsin presented their vision and plan to create the best space for The Commons and their team was one of three selected as winners! This energetic, bright and creative group will carry their inspiration and ideas throughout the next several months to create the ultimate innovation, 'uncorporate' hub in Milwaukee. Read about some of their past classes here.
Web: thecommonswi.com
Twitter: @TheCommonsWI
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCommonsWI

Erasing the Boundaries: How Notre Dame's Stadium Expansion Expresses Commitment to the 'Whole Student"

The University of Notre Dame's Campus Crossroads Student Center and Rec Sports facility is the tangible fulfillment of UND's commitment to the development of the "whole student." Workshop Architects' own commitment to collaborative planning and design process was a perfect match for the integrative nature of this project. Our process purposefully blurred boundaries among the firms who contributed to the Campus Crossroads project as well as those among academic disciplines, student life, and student service functions. The resulting blend of academic, social, and wellness components in a single project reflects the bold inventiveness of Notre Dame and redefines what it means to support the holistic development of students.

Read more on the Crossroads official press page: http://crossroads.nd.edu/news/53397-student-center-and-rec-sports-facility/