With decades of experience in creating culturally integrated and technically sophisticated living, learning, and research facilities, Ellerbe Becket is dedicated to helping educational institutions achieve their objectives. We know it takes an understanding of the big picture to bring meaning to the detail. Through our international and national practices, we leverage our experience to provide excellence and innovation in our focus on university planning and design. Our goal is to create facilities that respond to existing context; respect the history and traditions of an institution; and support its aspirations for the future.
We understand the impact that design has on every part of environment and the people our projects serve. To support the role that sustainability has in our communities, we approach each project with a spirit of creativity, responsibility and stewardship.
From the groundbreaking Northwestern Memorial Hospital to the rejuvenation of the University of Kentucky Chandler Medical Center and landmark projects in Asia and the Middle East, Ellerbe Becket offers decades of specialized experience in the planning, design and production of large-scale and complex projects in the academic health sector. Our work has ranged from master plans to significant teaching, research and patient care facilities; projects have been recognized for planning innovation that allows for future change and design innovation that sensitively fits into existing campus contexts.
Ellerbe Becket has earned international recognition in the design of specialized, state-of-the-art learning environments, with a legacy that includes ten business schools, as well as law schools and law libraries. We recognize that each design must create a durable platform for learning and community, help enhance the positioning of the client institution within the competitive management education environment and, in many cases, provide a “signature” structure for the campus and local business community.
Our approach to academic facility design is based on anticipating the community of students, staff, and faculty who will be supported and shaped by these buildings today and in the future. We are leaders in the design of mediated classrooms and executive education environments–and have transferred that knowledge to lead the development of technically complex, yet flexible, spaces for instruction and research. To plan and design well requires interweaving an understanding of the learners of today, and those of the next generation with architecture.
Revolutionary technology now makes it possible for students, educators and scientists to access information and reach out to colleagues around the world. Ellerbe Becket helps create environments where scientific research and development can flourish. We are aware of how the latest in research affects facility design and organize building systems that serve today’s needs yet are flexible enough to adapt to tomorrow’s innovations.
Ellerbe Becket specializes in the design of distinctive athletic facilities that preserve the unique identity and tradition of an institution, while inspiring loyalty, pride and spirit. These are the facilities that energize fans and include them in the action, creating an intimidating and celebrated home-court advantage. Our experience gives us focus and expertise to create exceptional, functional, forward-thinking venues. We understand the intricacies involved in running an athletic facility — and the nuances that separate good facilities from truly great ones.
Studies have shown that student retention is directly linked to a student’s sense of “belonging” to a college or university community. And there is little doubt that treating students holistically — by educating the mind, tending the body, and inspiring the spirit — results in a more rewarding educational experience. Ellerbe Becket offers depth in the design of new and renovated student unions/student centers, student housing and recreation facilities. These projects serve as the ‘heart’ of university and college campuses, fitting into their context while supporting the communities that they serve.
