At Spelman College, just over one third of enrolled students are pursing degrees in science and technology. The all-women HBCU in Atlanta also prides itself on its arts program. As advances in technology continue to blur distinctions between these disciplines, Spelman saw a need for a new facility where students pursuing coursework centering electronics or studying computer science could collaborate and comingle with those obtaining degrees in the performing or visual arts. Studio Gang designed the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts not to just foster connection and collaboration among disciplines, but also to invite the public in. “The students wanted this connection to the immediate community,” Jeanne Gang told AN. “Spelman wanted to put students’ work on a bigger stage but also embrace the community around them. The building helps facilitate that.” The Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts designed by Studio Gang is located at the edge of the Spelman College campus, to allow for public engagement. (Tom Harris) Located on the campus periphery, the site for the multidisciplinary building was selected to cultivate connection with nearby neighborhoods, where a burgeoning art scene with galleries and art studios has already taken hold. Studio Gang’s design reflects a need for openness and connection with double-height spaces and a facade fabricated to let light in. Programmatically, the public-facing spaces occupy the ground floor—the black box theater, other performance stages, dance studios, and an art gallery were all located there. A central atrium on the second floor, dubbed the Forum, anchors the space. Classrooms, rehearsal studios, and technology labs occupy the second and third floors. An elevated walkway, designed for student and faculty access, connects to the second level. (Courtesy Studio Gang) Outside, on the campus-facing elevation, a bridge connects to the second story. This elevated walkway can be used by faculty and students when the first floor is in use for a public event. The portion of the building facing the city is marked by a “porch,” as Gang referred to it: a hardscaped patio that spills out from the building and into the city streets. An unapologetic use of glass on the building promotes openness, but beckons a need for a strong shading scheme, one that can control light where needed and achieve sustainability standards. The powder-coated steel shading structure applied to the facades was largely dictated by the building’s southwest orientation. It was paired with brick on the ground level, corrugated siding, and glass. Gang described the facade’s shading implementation as “a rhythm based on the fenestration and the orientation,” adding, “the pattern comes from what is needed, but is artfully deployed.” The building’s color palette pulls from Georgia’s red clay soil and masonry buildings on campus. (Tom Harris) The deployment of the exterior shades and window placement curates a balance between unwanted glare and desired natural light, while reducing the building’s energy use—a carbon win. It’s well implemented above the Forum, where a skylight, oriented north, filters in light that is shaded by the walls. Similarly, in double-height spaces, like the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab, the external shading is complemented by blinds inside to deliver a well-lit work and studying environment. A skylight above the Forum is one inventive way natural light enters the interiors. (Tom Harris) While many spaces were designed with specific programmatic requirements, communal spaces were conceived for flexible use. (Courtesy Studio Gang) The color palette, achieved through a mix of metals, pulls from Georgia’s red clay soil and the masonry prominent on other campus buildings. Patterns, textures, and the angular shapes deployed on the facade permeate inside. Mullions on the skylight and the railings lining the Forum recall the functional yet decorative elements outside. White walls inside are ripe for pinups and displaying student work. Color was introduced sparingly via flexible, movable furnishings. Double-height spaces like the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab required additional shading measures. (Tom Harris) A black box theater is among the several performance and art-centered spaces inside the new building. (Tom Harris) While many spaces were designed for flexibility and informality, the sheer number of divergent activities and programs packed within the Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation & the Arts makes the opportunities for creativity and innovation limitless. From recording studios and rehearsal rooms, to photography studios and workshops, students, faculty, and the public will have a hard time not learning something new.