School Pride Showcase

by Marcy Marro | April 1, 2021 12:00 am

The four-story, 125,000-square-foot building accommodates 4,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The exterior creates a modern corporate space by bringing together metal, glass and limestone. Inside, this expression is carried through, including in the Lear Auditorium, where Holland, Mich.-based Dri-Design’s Perforated Imaging Panels were used to create the school’s logo.

Brad Zeeff, president of Dri-Design[1], says the school and its location helps launch students’ careers within a vital business community. “The building reflects this forward-thinking focus with modern and technological flairs, like the use of the Perforated Imaging Series to announce the school’s pride and purpose.”

Christman Constructors Inc.[2], Lansing, Mich., installed approximately 2,000 square feet of the Perforated Imaging Panels over light-diffusing fabric and a mounting structure the company engineered. Depending on the activities taking place in the auditorium, which includes community and school functions, the lighting color behind the panels can be changed.

Fred Alt, project manager/estimator with Christman Constructors, says installing the panels was the easy part, while designing and engineering the mounting structure and finding the right light-diffusing fabric took more planning. “The most difficult part of the process of installing the metal panels did not have anything to do with Dri Design,” he says. “The light-diffusing fabric size and the method to attach it to our structure had to be modified. The installation was complete by our carpenters under budget and on time.”

An iconic educational and presentation space, the 260-seat Lear Auditorium is equipped with state-of-the-art AV technology that supports live streaming as well as interactive learning and has a stage large enough to fit full-sized vehicles for automotive industry-related events. The business school embodies the university’s legacy as a leading educational institution, while underscoring the positive impact of the school’s namesake, Mike Ilitch, had on the city. The Ilitch family, which founded Little Caesar’s Pizza, and owns the Detroit Tigers baseball team and the Detroit Red Wings hockey team, gave $35 million toward the construction of the building.

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/school-pride-showcase/

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