The renovation and expansion of the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University transformed the facility into a dynamic environment for teaching, study, and collaboration. The project includes a 48,000-square-foot addition, increasing the school’s footprint by 50 percent while establishing a clear and welcoming 'front door' for the Nashville community to the Vanderbilt campus through a redefined entry and reimagined façade.

Rising vertically, the addition introduces a new fourth floor dedicated to Owen’s Executive Education programs. Working within a constrained site with an ambitious program, the design extends the new upper level over the existing building. The new area accommodates two large, flexible classrooms, open collaboration areas, group meeting rooms, and an executive event suite with a café and outdoor terrace offering expansive views of the campus and the Nashville skyline.

Engineering features include:

• The renovation and addition were strategically configured to avoid triggering upgrades to the existing lateral load–resisting system
• A steel-framed addition featuring a 20-foot cantilever over the existing building
• A prominent entrance canopy cantilevering 21 feet from the south façade, supporting a perforated aluminum screen
• An exterior solar shading system supported by tensioned cables and exposed structural steel, integrated with the curtainwall façade
• The structural design accommodated phased construction to maintain continuous building operations throughout

The project achieved LEED Gold certification.