The new generation of students won’t be working in silos once they graduate—they’ll be connecting and mixing ideas with experts from all over the world. With this in mind, CSUMB is creating cross-discipline learning opportunities for their students, while also making higher education accessible to traditionally underserved and low-income populations in their own backyard. Our design solutions for CSUMB’s Joel and Dena Gambord Business and Information Technology Building (BIT) focus on blending two disparate CSUMB programs—the College of Business and the School of Computing and Design—into one building to mimic the real business world and show that learning happens everywhere.

Our design for the 58,000-square-foot BIT Building promotes a transparency of learning and a cross-pollination of ideas at every turn. It also provides a comfortable, sustainably-designed haven from CSUMB’s frigid coastal climate. A light-filled, lively atrium encourages students to use the BIT Building as a path of travel, regardless of their destination. Monitors in the atrium showcase current student work and spark ideas between business and computer students, and passersby. The classrooms have glass walls that border the atrium so bystanders can feel the entrepreneurial spirit and innovative ideas happening within. Certified LEED Platinum and registered as a Net Zero Energy Ready building, the BIT Building minimizes its environmental impact with water and energy conservation strategies. At the BIT Building, learning is open to everyone, and our design solution inspires business and computer students to work together, learn from one another, and understand the value of collaboration.