The challenge was to create a new college campus
in the urban setting of an assemblage of two Royal
Oak city blocks. The building solution includes
four distinct elements, each housing a particular
discipline of the curriculum. These elements are
connected visually and physically with a glass-enclosed
mall.
The circular Instructional Resource Center is
placed in the center of the complex because it
is the functional, as well as the symbolic center
and focus. It is expressed as a transparent enclosure
completely visible from all common spaces on the
campus, indoors and outdoors. This was one of
the first buildings that started the revitalization
of downtown Royal Oak.