USD Knauss School of Business Case Study

A Case Study

University of San Diego Knauss School of Business

About the CLIENT

The Knauss Center for Business is an unparalleled place for learning and innovation in the heart of the University of San Diego’s beautiful campus. Informed by a vision of business stewardship and designed to foster collaboration, the 120,000-square-foot complex reflects the future of business education at the Knauss School of Business.

The Knauss School of Business building was meant to foster and support collaboration and the student experience. Our design criteria and solutions delivered relied on everything being flexible, so that rooms and spaces could be reconfigured quickly to support multiple user groups. From active learning classrooms, incubator spaces, a makers space, student success center, data analytics labs and advisory spaces; each space required a specific set of design criteria and direction that helped foster a modern approach to the traditional business school environment.

THE Challenge

Like all projects we worked on during the COVID-19 pandemic, flexibility was key as new challenges presented themselves throughout the project that no one was really prepared for. The Knauss School of Business was built in anticipation of a very different post-covid world. The Knauss School of Business launched an undergraduate Business Analytics major during the pandemic which became the first in San Diego to offer a complete suite of business analytics programs.

project overview

The University of San Diego was determined to embody its own values in the interior and exterior design of its facilities, starting with the new building for the Knauss School of Business. The University of San Diego's core values were identified as transparency, clarity, openness, accessibility, and collaboration. The Knauss School of Business strove to serve as a campus model for the latest in pedagogy, technology and sustainability where students, faculty and business professionals can come together to confront the most vexing challenges facing society.

136,000 sq. ft.

scope

Spaces Include:

THE SOLUTION

OUR PARTNERS

Innovation Catalyzer Student Success Center Finance Lab Business Advisory Suite Data Analytics Lab Nexus Theater Production Studio Dean's Suite Outdoor Environments Active Learning Classrooms In-Between Spaces Workstations

NOTABLE PROJECT MOMENT

The new Knauss School of Business building was built to house all of the student, faculty, staff and programs that prior to the opening were housed in six different buildings across campus. To help program and support the creation of a new home that would serve as the center of innovation and collaboration was both challenging and rewarding: it nearly tripled the business schools previous space.

(Knauss School of Business & Olin Hall)