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Beacom School of Business at The University of South Dakota

This is a project by Charles Rose Architects and it is located at Vermillion, South Dakota, United States. Project's program: Educational building. There are six images for Beacom School of Business at The University of South Dakota.

: © John Edward Linden

Project details

Project name: Beacom School of Business at The University of South Dakota
Location: Vermillion, South Dakota, United States
Program: Educational building
Area: Building Area: 75,000 sf
Year: Completion: 2009
Project by: Charles Rose Architects
Others: Acoustics: Acentech • Civil Engineer: Sayre Associates • MEP: Roby Quintal Everson • Specification: Lund Associates • General Contractor: Henry Carlson Company

Project images

Designer's statement

Charles Rose Architects won the national competition to design the new business school for The University of South Dakota. The Beacom School of Business was completed in the fall of 2009. The design for the building and site plan reflects two aspirations: a building that provides a dynamic professional environment, with forms and materials that convey excellence, adaptability, and a spirit of entrepreneurship; and a site plan that gives the school a powerful organizing effect on the USD campus.

Our siting of the building creates an important collegiate landscape with a newly defined quadrangle and path system. The new open space is a well-proportioned landscape that greatly enhances the overall campus plan. The siting establishes dramatic vistas on campus, creates an outdoor classroom for both the school and the broader campus community, and provides an organizing landscape that in turn suggests possible future building sites. In defining the new quadrangle, the building also acts as a buffer between a planted parking area and the new pedestrian landscape, and its entrances and interior circulation create portals connecting the two.

Inside the 75 000 square foot building are state-of-the-art classrooms, conference rooms, faculty offices, laboratories, and a 176-seat auditorium Spaces are flexible to accommodate the latest teaching and problem solving techniques. The overall interior design fosters interdisciplinary encounters between students, faculty, administration, and the business community. The centralized atrium, for example, is a multi-use space: a striking entry hall; a large gathering area for spontaneous or planned socializing; and a dynamic zone of circulation with dramatic stairs and a large glass walkway. In addition, the building circulation encourages interaction between large and small groups and provides small, informal meeting/study areas on all levels. Integrated into the walls of the atrium, a large electronic ticker displays stock market data and event information, and a video wall will connect the school to world business events. The light-filled interior also provides a visual transparency that promotes access to the broad variety of activities within the building and the easy flow of information, deemed essential in today’s business environment.