Center for Architecture and Environmental Design
Kent State University celebrated the grand opening of its much-anticipated building, the Center for Architecture and Environmental Design, on October 7, 2016. Visitors, alumni and friends from around the world toured the 110,191-square-foot contemporary glass-and-brick building, stretching along the Lefton Esplanade from Lincoln Street toward downtown Kent.
The center brings exceptional design to Kent State’s architecture, architectural studies and interior design programs, and it unites students and faculty from the College of Architecture and Environmental Design under one roof to serve as an educational model for design excellence.
The distinctive building was conceived in 2012, when the university initiated an international competition. Thirty-seven highly accomplished design teams submitted their qualifications and proposals. After more than a yearlong process, internationally renowned New York-based firm WEISS/MANFREDI was named as the lead designer, Richard L. Bowen & Associates as the architect of record and Gilbane Building Company as the construction manager.
The center holds a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Platinum rating from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), making it one of the largest buildings in Ohio to reach this high standard. Some of the features include a partial green roof to capture and recycle rain water, 131 geothermal wells (each 405-feet deep) to provide an efficient heating and cooling source for the building and glass curtain walls designed to optimize daylight while reducing the need for artificial light.
The exterior contains 91,000 custom bricks produced by Ohio’s Belden Brick Company that brings together colors exemplifying the strong and continuously growing relationship between the university and downtown Kent.
Inside, the new center contains a cascading studio loft that promotes interdisciplinary engagement and peer-to-peer learning. A digital fabrication laboratory, lighting lab, specialized research labs, maker spaces and a material’s library provide the infrastructure needed for tomorrow’s designers. The linear, transparent, ground-floor lobby features a café, gallery, lecture hall and library reading room.
Our thanks to the generous donors who helped make the Center for Architecture and Environmental Design a reality:
| M. Craig Allen ’80 and Thomas M. Teti ‘80, Image Associates M. Craig Allen and Thomas M. Teti Critique Space |
Lawrence R. and Sandra C. Armstrong Lawrence R. and Sandra C. Armstrong Gallery |
| Belden Brick Company Charitable Trust Belden Brick Materials Library |
Bialosky + Partners Architects Bialosky + Partners Architects Seminar Room |
| Richard L. Bowen & Associates Richard L. Bowen & Associates Grand Staircase |
Ron and Joan Burbick Ron and Joan Burbick Lobby Burbick Plaza |
| Bob and Joyce Cene Bob and Joyce Cene Lecture Hall |
John and Fonda Elliot and the Elliot Family Foundation Elliot Studios for Design |
| Barry and Jo Ann Fetterman Barry and Jo Ann Fetterman Seminar Room |
Karpinski Engineering Karpinski Engineering Critique Space |
| Nora Klebow Nora Klebow Studio |
Douglas and Sandra McNeill McNeill Conference Room |
| George T. Simon George T. Simon III Cafe |
Douglas L. and Susan R. Steidl Douglas L. and Susan R. Steidl Faculty Lounge |
