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Project Overview

The 242,000-square-foot Edward P. Evans Hall will be the new home of the Yale School of Management in January 2014. The building is situated at the northern end of the Yale University campus at 165 Whitney Avenue. With its striking modern design, glass façade, and large courtyard, Evans Hall will take its place among the architectural landmarks that distinguish the Yale campus. Architecture + Design Edward P. Evans Hall was designed by Foster + Partners, the prominent firm chaired by Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate Lord Norman Foster ARCH ’62. The materials required for the new Yale SOM campus’s construction give a sense of the project’s scope and ambition: 4 million pounds of steel, 16.2 million pounds of concrete, 2.25 million pounds of glass for the exterior façade, 123 miles of copper wire, and 500 doors. It will incorporate the latest in “green construction” materials and practices, and the 4.25-acre plot will be sustainably landscaped. When completed, the new Edward P. Evans Hall will house state-of-the-art classrooms, faculty offices, academic centers, and student and meeting spaces organized around an enclosed courtyard. The design is intended to create a teaching and learning environment that will support the school’s innovative integrated MBA curriculum and enhance the Yale SOM community.  Courtyard + Other Key Spaces At the center of Edward P. Evans Hall will be an enclosed courtyard, which will act as the heart of the school, providing outdoor space to study and socialize. The courtyard, glass façade, and open layout will allow people to see from one area to another across the campus, creating a unifying effect, a sense that activities throughout the building are interconnected. The expansive courtyard will also link Evans Hall architecturally to other Yale buildings built around courtyards, such as the Sterling Law Building and the residential colleges. Other key features will include the 350-seat Zhang Lei ’02 Auditorium, the Wilbur L. Ross Library, a dining commons and coffee shop, 16 state-of-the-art classrooms, a student gym, and the Beinecke Terrace Room, a lecture hall/entertainment space with an outdoor terrace providing views of landscaped gardens in the rear of the campus. Innovative Classrooms The design of Evans Hall is directly inspired by the need for a teaching and learning environment to support the school’s integrated MBA curriculum. The campus will feature 16 classrooms of varying layouts and sizes, developed after an extensive study of the distinctive Yale learning experience. Breakout rooms, lounges, the library, and other common spaces—as well as faculty offices—are positioned to maximize interchange and collaboration, hallmarks of the school’s integrated approach to MBA education. Community + YALE While the new campus will be a dramatic departure from the current Yale SOM premises, the new design will incorporate key qualities that have fostered a strong community at the school for three decades. For instance, lounge space has been placed outside classrooms and near staircases, so that students and faculty will have the opportunity to encounter each other in the course of moving to classes or meetings, allowing for the kind of spontaneous interactions that now occur in the Hall of Mirrors. Sitting at the northern end of the university campus, Evans Hall will serve as a gateway to Yale, signaling the important role the School of Management plays in the broader university. Throughout the development process, Yale University has striven to be mindful of preserving links to the architectural history of both Yale and New Haven while building for the future of the School of Management. Opening 2014 Construction is expected to be completed in late 2013 and classes will begin at Evans Hall on Monday, January 13, 2014. A three-day conference will officially mark the building’s opening, attended by donors, alumni, and leaders from academia, government, and business. Other events will introduce students and other members of the Yale community to the building.