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University of Maryland School of Public Policy EDUcating the next generation

The School of Public Policy is a highly visible symbol of the University of Maryland’s dedication to serving the public good. Designed to be the nerve center of public discourse and nonprofit activity on campus, the four-story building brings together more than 90 faculty members and 1000 students in a state-of-the-art environment for public policy education. It also houses the Do Good Institute, a not-for-profit incubator that is the physical manifestation of the university’s mission of becoming “the nation’s first Do Good Campus.”

THE AGORA OF ATHENS: Our design for the School of Public Policy takes as its precedent the spatial typology of the ancient agora. As the center of social, commercial and political life in the Greek polis, the agora is considered to be the birthplace of democratic thought and public discourse.

Drawing inspiration from this history, and from the architectural forms it pioneered, the School of Public Policy will serve as a magnet for scholars across campus and experts from throughout the world as they gather to learn, collaborate and actualize the future of public policy.

Initial Master Plan Studies

The site is located at the convergence of two distinct areas of campus: the formal quadrangle of McKeldin Mall, and the picturesque landscape of Chapel Field. To become a vibrant gathering point for multi-disciplinary thinkers and activists, it was clear from the beginning of design that the new building should serve as a bridge between these two archetypical landscapes - the classical and the picturesque, representative of the rational and chaotic, history and the unknown coming together. In the interview stage of the project, these master plan studies were created to help define our approach to the site. Rather than a fully-fledged design solution, we offered these as a springboard for discussion, giving the client a participatory role in an inquiry-based creative process.

Initial Parti Studies

Also prepared for the interview stage, these parti studies explore three concepts for how the School of Public Policy’s could interact with the site. Stitching together disparate elements of the campus master plan, these studies helped to define functions currently missing from campus and envision new spaces capable of elevating the experience of public policy discourse. As in the Greek agora, connectivity between indoor and outdoor space and the creation of courtyard experiences was critical in the conceptual organization and expression of the architecture.

Integration with the Site

Upon winning the project, we then dove more deeply into the campus master plan to formalize the opportunities inherent in the site. Our conceptual goals included:

  • Enhancing connectivity with McKeldin Mall, the largest campus mall in the United States.
  • Preserving the historic resource of the trees, which are a unique mechanism of ecology, economy and resilience on campus
  • Harmonizing with the adjacent Rossborough Inn. This historic building, which predates every other building on campus, is where George Washington stayed on journeys of state from Washington to Philadelphia.
  • Defining the edge of Chapel Field, the last undeveloped green space on campus, and a visual signature of the university along Baltimore Avenue. This is the main thoroughfare that connects the university with Washington, D.C., the seat of public policy in the nation.
  • Framing views and spatial relationships with Memorial Chapel, which occupies a place of prominence overlooking Chapel Field and the School of Public Policy site.
  • Recontextualizing Lee Hall, a classroom building prototypical of the campus’s Georgian architectural style.
  • Creating a “town-to-gown" experience by bridging the learning environments of campus, the economic nucleus of College Park and the urban background of Washington, D.C. as connected via the future Purple Line Metro station.

Massing Solution

With these design goals established, we went on to sculpt the massing, organization and expression of the School of Public Policy.

Like the agora in Athens, the School of Public Policy cascades through the natural slope of its landscape, unfolding gracefully over the 4.5% grade of Chapel Field. Sensitive to its historic neighbors, the design infuses classical Georgian features with a modern sense of transparency, creating a window into the past as a foundation for the future of policymaking. This past/present dichotomy, intrinsic to how public policy has been made through the ages, is captured in the massing and spatial connectivity of the building.

Entrances on the east and west form crossroads that connect within a large, two-story lobby. Public spaces form the heart of the building, providing a forum for learning, collaboration and events. Branching off this central forum, a lecture hall, deliberative classroom, special event space and several seminar rooms unfold. They are acoustically isolated but visually connected and programmatically flexible – usable either independently or in conjunction with one another and connected digitally to each other and the world beyond the campus.

The cascading architecture forms an elegant edge to Chapel Field, one of the key open spaces on campus. Do Good Plaza, a shared outdoor event space on the building’s east side, embraces the neighboring Purple Line station, establishing a welcoming new gateway into campus. All around the building, thoughtfully landscaped areas form pockets for gathering, study and social activity.

Interconnectivity and Efficiency

Floor plans show the interconnectivity of spaces within and without the School of Public Policy while demonstrating the efficiency of the program. Every circulation space doubles as a program area, putting learning and student engagement on display throughout the building and netting a 10% increase in program capacity. Areas adjacent to the lecture hall and seminar rooms serve as spillover capacity for larger events, increasing the effective capacity of the lecture hall from 155 to 650.

Façade Development

The façade of the School of Public Policy blends contemporary expressions of openness and transparency with materials and rhythmic elements found in the adjacent Georgian-inspired campus buildings. Going beyond the immediate examples found on campus, we explored the fundamentals of Georgian architecture in both their original and modern interpretations. This led to an emphasis on depth and shadow, and a lacier and more delicate rendition of the rhythmic cadence of the established colonnades on campus.

Throughout the second and third level of the exterior, filigreed vertical elements interact with light to create a sense of depth and dimensionality. The façade is delineated into horizontal bands, creating connectivity with the existing datum lines of adjacent buildings as the building traverses the slope of Chapel Field.

An extensive solar strategy was achieved through modeling of the sun path throughout the year. Vertical fin depths and shading trellises coincide with the solar cycle, maximizing sunlight, framing unique views and minimizing energy use.

Public Spaces

Activity and discourse is on display everywhere in the building. Sound isolation is achieved without interrupting the visual connectivity.

Campus Context

Visibility and Transparency

As a building dedicated to democratic thought, visibility and transparency were metaphors necessary to infuse into the design. These ideals became organizing principles from every element of the interior program and exterior expression. We went to great lengths to avoid obstructing views of the Chapel, which is the campus's most iconic element. A wraparound glazed porch, carefully framed windows, and curated view angles embedded throughout the learning space highlight Memorial Chapel from everywhere in the building.

The jewel piece of the design is the deliberative chamber, an oval-shaped room created for United Nations-style debate. The chamber was formally identified through design as the crowning element of the program, and as such it is placed as a floating element within a transparent glass box at the top of the massing. In this way, it becomes an object of curiosity and inspiration that can gather attention from all sides.

A New Campus Gateway

A fundamental piece of the design is its connection to the planned Purple Line station on Baltimore Avenue. The new Metro line, which will form a mass transit beltway around Washington, D.C., was finally approved midway through concept design. Located directly across Baltimore Avenue from the School of Public Policy site, the Purple Line station will transform the way campus is approached and experienced. The School of Public Policy will be the first thing visitors see upon entering campus via this new portal, making the building a primary gateway for students and visitors.

The School of Public Policy embraces the Purple Line via Do Good Plaza, an outdoor public space nestled between the building’s north and east wings. Facing the historic Rossborough Inn and the commercial core of College Park, the building form reaches out without being overwhelming. Following the rising grade from east to west, the building definition dissipates on the upper levels, creating a canopy presence that embraces its surroundings.

Landscape Design

Other LEO A DALY Education projects

From top clockwise: George Washington University, Corcoran School of Fine Arts, Washington, D.C.; California State University, Channel Islands John Spoor Broome Library, Camarillo, California; Wayne State College, Benthack Hall Renovation, Wayne, Nebraska; The Heights Building, Arlington, Virginia; Creighton University School of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska.