Kansas State University - School of Leadership Studies

Sited along the wooded banks of Campus Creek in the heart of the campus of Kansas State University, this classroom/office building is the new hub for the School of Leadership Studies. It is centrally located along Mid-Campus Drive to branch out to the rest of the campus, the community and beyond. The building creates a welcoming and functional home for the rapidly expanding School of Leadership Studies program which had been located in two houses on the edge of campus.

The first floor of this two-story 36,000 square-foot building includes the 210-seat Town Hall lecture space, three mid-sized classrooms, three seminar-sized classrooms, and an information commons reception area which includes a coffee/snack cafe for students and faculty. The second floor houses office and meeting spaces for student organizations, faculty, adjunct faculty, visiting scholars, and graduate teaching assistants.

The design of the facility evokes the organic feel of the beautiful, wooded site by the use of craftsman style details and massing complete with generous overhangs, and native cottonwood limestone. The facility encourages the interaction of students and faculty with six open meeting areas, two of them featuring fireplaces, scattered throughout the building. Observation areas facilitate research studies on leadership formation.

The facility promises to take leadership beyond the academic with a LEED Gold Certification using the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design sustainable architecture rating standard.