DAVID A. TEPPER QUAD PROJECT  CARNEGIE MELLON UNIVERSITY | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | 2018

Architects: Moore Ruble Yudell Architects
Associate Architects: Renaissance 3 Architects
Client: Carnegie Mellon University
General Contractor: PJ Dick Incorporated

The Tepper Quad Project is an interconnected HUB for creativity, collaboration and innovation that brings a diverse community together. It represents Carnegie Mellon University’s future vision

The Tepper School of Business moves from the campus periphery to a new center and heart that interconnects all seven campus colleges while promoting an enhanced ecosystem of cross-campus collaboration bringing people, ideas and resources together.

Transforming an existing parking lot, the site is located at a focal and intersection of campus and city.

The new Tepper Quad visually connects to the original campus core across Forbes Avenue.

The site engages an urban Innovation Corridor and actively contributes to the city’s start-up culture and economic development by interconnecting the campus to major cultural and research institutions.

Ecosystem of Campus Resources The Tepper Quad Project enhances interconnectedness at all scales from site planning, to building organization, to the building’s external expression.

The planning and design of the 305,000sf building and open space create a place of confluence and interconnectedness with future campus development planned to its north.

Here students will learn from researchers and professors while interacting and networking alongside entrepreneurs, computer scientists and creative minds from around the world. 3-Dimensional Play

The exterior is a sculptural 3-dimensional play of solid and void. There are two strong fronts—an urban front along Forbes Avenue and a campus front facing the campus core. The building reimagines the historic campus where brick was used to symbolize the institution as a “training ground for industry.”

Our new 21” long roman brick, fired in rare beehive kilns, has richer golden hues than the standard campus buff to combat Pittsburgh’s overcast skies.

The interior and exterior are of a piece with each gesture designed to highlight the special places of community and collaboration within and to project the energy of what happens inside the building outward.

The entire ground level is transparent and activates the street while key spaces showcase the collaborative work to the whole campus. The curved geometry inside is inspired by how people move and interact.

The design of learning environments as flexible, loft-like spaces with exposed structure aligns with CMU’s proudly “scrappy” culture.

Integrated Design Innovation Environmental and health and wellness strategies are integrated into every aspect of the design.

Although Pittsburgh is widely known as a steel town, the need for future flexibility drove our pioneering use of an innovative concrete bubble deck system that supports change through its flat modular structure and reduces concrete material by 35%. Innovative planning and high performance building systems include a large central HUB/Atrium that brings daylight deep into the building, informal loft-like spaces that can adapt to future needs, natural and cross ventilation, radiant heating / cooling, raised floor system, heat recovery, and a robust exterior envelope.