Morgan State University Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies

Project Details

Project Description

Hord Coplan Macht led the design team for the award-winning Center for the Built Environment and Infrastructure Studies (CBEIS). The new 126,000 sf building supports the instructional and research programs of Morgan State University which addresses the physical aspects of the environment. The building contributes to the university’s overall institutional environment with an expanded number of the shared facilities. CBEIS has 32 classrooms/labs/seminar rooms, 88 offices, and three department offices. CBEIS received the Public Building of Year of Award from AIA Maryland on September 12, 2013 and was recognized by ULI Baltimore’s Wavemaker awards. Associate Architect: The Freelon Group.

The design of CBEIS led to a collaboration between Morgan State University’s School of Architecture and Planning and Hord Coplan Macht. The team won an AIA Upjohn research grant to study the contribution of the learning space to enhanced learning outcomes of diverse students in an active learning classroom. This is first time diverse students have been the subject of learning spaces research.

The Challenge
The building had to integrate several academic departments including the School of Architecture and Planning, the Department of Civil Engineering, and the Institute of Transportation Studies into a synergistic interdisciplinary environment.

The Solution
To promote collaborative engagement, two horizontal bars bound a sky-lit atrium that runs the length of the building, creating an internal street where programs mix, student vitality is expressed, and social spaces meet learning environments. The “street” features a café, lounges, information kiosk, departmental “store fronts”, visual connections to academic studio spaces, and a gallery-like space for the interactivity of people and display of their work.

“Sustainability”
CBIES received LEED Gold Certification. It has been honored with the First Annual Design Award for Excellence in Environmentally Sustainable Design from the American Institute of Architects Baltimore Chapter. This award is intended to recognize excellence in sustainable design in projects that conserve resources, preserve ecosystems, optimize comfort, and reduce environmental impact through high performance, integrated and innovative design concern for unique cultural heritage, and affordability.