Building Lasting Legacies: 16 of the Most Iconic University Buildings [SlideShare]

With over $90 billion spent on construction in higher education in the U.S. in just 2017 alone, it’s no surprise that some of the most impressive buildings are on university campuses. Iconic university buildings enhance the student experience today and for centuries to come.

With innovative classrooms, libraries and research buildings featuring the state of the art robotics, high-tech boards and huddle rooms design for small teams collaboration, universities are now incorporating optimal student learning conditions into campus designs.

Outside of the classroom, universities are creating spaces to foster a community and create an unparalleled student experience with luxurious dorms, phenomenal student unions, massive athletic stadiums and Broadway-worthy performing arts centers. And with many universities building for a 100-year lifespan, they’ve turned to green buildings because sustainability is essential when creating a lasting legacy.

Campus architecture not only enhances student experience but also provides a memorable first impression among students, parents and the community at large. To showcase some of the most incredible feats of higher education construction, we’ve compiled our list of most iconic university buildings. We’ve segmented our list into eight categories, and chose two from each one:

• Dorms
• Stadiums
• Student Unions
• Library
• Performing Arts Center
• Classroom and Research buildings
• Historic Buildings
• Green Buildings

Flip through our SlideShare, or read below, to see some of the most amazing university buildings across the U.S.:

16 of the Top University Buildings

Best Dorms

• Cuarto Area, University of California, Davis  
• The Units, University of California, Berkeley

Best Athletic Field

• Death Valley, Clemson University
• The Big House, University of Michigan

Best Student Union

• West Campus Union, Duke University
• The Student Union, Oklahoma State

Best Library

• Joe and Rika Mansueto Library, University of Chicago
• George Peabody Library, Johns Hopkins University

Best Performing Arts Center

• Wharton Center of Performing Arts, Michigan State University
• Hylton Performing Arts, George Mason University

Best Classrooms & Research Buildings

• The Bloomberg Center, Cornell Tech
• Visual Arts Building, University of Iowa

Best Historic Building

• Nassau Hall, Princeton University
• The Rotunda, University of Virginia

Best Green Building

• Kroon Hall, Yale University
• The Biodesign Institue B, Arizona State University

Avoiding Crumbling Campuses: How to Maintain these Iconic University Buildings

While higher education construction investment continues to grow across the world, universities face a whole new range of issues once the building is complete. Sprawling campuses, disconnected departments and rising costs all create hurdles for university facilities and maintenance teams. Without visibility and easy access to data of existing facilities, maintenance costs soar and building renovations all the more difficult.

To make the most of investments into new university buildings and facilities, teams need access to the comprehensive construction information and data. When investing in new facilities, universities should invest in cutting-edge technology solutions to manage design and construction data.

If you’re interested in learning more about the myriad of ways builders for higher education institutions can improve efficiency in construction, download our latest ebook, “Constructed Campus”:

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Did Your Alma Mater Make the List?

Is one of your favorite university building missing from the list? Tell us in the comment box below!

* Header Image: Courtesy of Syaffe93 via commons.wikimedia.org