The new
Grand Valley State University L. William Seidman Center entered its final year of construction this summer. The new 110,000-square-foot building (50 Front St. NW, Grand Rapids) will house the entire GVSU
Seidman College of Business and serve its more than 3,200 students.
In designing the building, special attention was paid to the need for teamwork spaces and places for business clubs and groups to meet. Several classrooms are designed to facilitate group work, and there are designated spaces for the college's six community outreach centers.
In addition to 15 general classroom spaces, the building also includes 14 team rooms that students can reserve.
"One of the things we'll have that we haven't had so far is what we call a room wizard," says Dean H. James Williams. "It's what Steelcase calls its technology. Students will be able to use this technology [online] to reserve spaces without actually showing up to reserve those spaces."
Williams says there will also be rooms equipped with Lecture Capture technology, which videotapes and audiotapes lectures and archives them for students and community members to access later.
The building will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, and Williams expects it will achieve silver status. A couple of unique sustainability features include a first floor shower for bicyclists and a station for electric cars.
The three-year project is moving along on schedule, with construction expected to conclude at the end of April 2013 and a move-in date that May.
Source: H. James Williams, Grand Valley State University Seidman College of Business
Writer: Charlsie Dewey, Freelance Reporter
Related Articles
Grand Valley, DeVries Development come to terms on Grand Rapids property for Seidman College
Enjoy this story?
Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.