About ten years have passed since Enrique Norten's bureau began work on the master plan for the renovation of the Livingston College campus at Rutgers University; during this time, the project is gradually being implemented: the new building of the business school was opened in the past, 2013.
This building is the first thing that those entering the campus see: the business school has become not only a symbol, but literally the gateway of the college. The corner of the L-shaped building, supported by tilted columns, looms over the main street leading into the complex. Passing through this arch, through the glazing of the facade, you can see what is happening inside. An almost elementary example of the unity of external and internal has practical meaning - here, using both the courtyard and the lobby, you can hold concerts, lectures, video broadcasts and ceremonies.
Upon entering the building, a view of a wide staircase opens up. “We hope that in this amphitheater people will relax and drink coffee, work on laptops and talk to each other. I would like to think that this place will be similar to the Plaza de España in Rome: there people sit - just like that - and meet other people,”says Enrique Norten.
The structure of the building reflects the shift in emphasis, which is relevant for modern education, from teaching in separate classrooms to working together in freer, open spaces. A similar trend
can be traced in the business environment as well: the growing need for cooperation requires a place for discussion and free intersection of opinions, and the traditional "cellular" plan does not contribute to this. Many classrooms and auditoriums are connected to each other vertically by an atrium and "sewn" horizontally with lines of public spaces of various sizes, from small secluded corners to large recreations. Teachers live in the very center of the building, within the reach of all students, which makes them not just a source of knowledge, but also colleagues in the common work and development of ideas developed at the school.
The building has two different facades: one facing the outer road is clad with embossed aluminum panels turned at different angles, the other, facing the campus, is completely glazed.
The business school building, like all new campus buildings, is LEED Silver (50-59 points out of 100) - a voluntary certification system for assessing the effectiveness and sustainability of projects. Year-round heating and cooling is provided by a geothermal field equipped under the central area of the campus, where 321 heat pumps operate, going to a depth of 150 meters. Complex
solar panels, located in the northeastern part of the territory, provides up to 63% of all the electricity required by the campus. Heavy rainfall is collected using special collectors and accumulated in artificial reservoirs.
According to Martin Markowitz, dean of the undergraduate program, "Livingston College is now the coolest campus of any Rutgers campus."
