SmithGroup Mike Ilitch School of Business

The University Business School is located off the University’s main campus in the heart of the new Downtown District. This new facility brings students closer to the city’s vibrant business, sports and entertainment district, and cultivates new opportunities for enhanced educational experiences, internships and career options. Transparency, connectivity, and flexibility shaped the school’s design. Reconfigurable classrooms and pop-up spaces are enclosed by a glass façade along the outside of the perimeter — providing passersby views of students in action throughout the day and glowing as a beacon of entrepreneurship and higher learning at night. Early project research found that classrooms are much more highly used in the afternoon and evening hours and that offices are rarely used after 5 pm, so placing active classrooms in a glowing facade at night matches the lively activities of the surrounding entertainment district.