New U of M Business School Building

So, they just finished the new Ross Business School building at the University of Michigan.
In fact, this is the first semester Curt has had classes there.

The outside is very contemporary.
I think that its pretty cool on its own, but nestled in with the University's other {beautiful} classic buildings it comes off as abrupt and ugly.


While the exterior design gets mixed reviews from me, the design on the inside is just neat.
While Curt was meeting with one of his groups for classwork, I wandered around and took some pictures.

(Sorry some of these pics are grainy, it was dark and to alter them so you can see anything you lose some of the details)

There is a bunch of art in this building, and a lot of it is more abstract than I like, but I love this one. It is two stories tall and adds a touch of whimsy.

So, while I like the interior design...I think some of their material choices are retarded.
All of the main floors are cork, and unless they have come up with a significantly more durable version of cork floors than I am familiar with, it's going to look dingy and need many repairs relatively soon.
The building has won all sorts of "green building" awards, and I think that might have played a role in their choices...but I really think that it is unwise to disregard the longevity of the material you are going to use (thus having to replace it frequently) just to "green" items.
Is it really green to have to rip it up and replace it a million times?

They did use a harder wood than cork on the stairs..but look at how scratched they are already.
It hasn't even been one full semester...midterms just happened.

Cool ceilings though.

And cool/weird 3D art.

I love the lighting in the whole building.

And, as non linear or regular as this carpet is, I really really like it too.
Its kind of organic looking, and I think it would hide stains really well.

The furniture is awesome looking.
Too bad it is really uncomfortable.

My favorite art is this wall of industrial looking frames that hold black and white photos of workers as they were constructing this building.

Overall it is fun to explore.
*Oh, and as a shout out to Curt's undergrad program, BusinessWeek ranked BYU's Marriott School #5 in the nation. Pretty impressive.*