Richard Ivey Building - Richard Ivey School of Business

The vision for the Richard Ivey Building in London, Ontario, Canada, was to create a vibrant, unified campus that would attract the best students and faculty, express Ivey Business School’s global identity, and celebrate Western University’s history. The siting of Ivey at an important campus intersection sets the stage for Western University’s expansion between the main campus and outlying colleges. Emphasizing the experience of the landscape, the building enhances Western’s brand as an urban university with a verdant, walkable campus. The design supports this vision through its form and massing. A contemporary interpretation of the collegiate quadrangle layout, the three-storey, 274,000 square-foot building is organized around a central courtyard. The courtyard brings light and activity to the centre of the building and connects directly into a full-height Grand Hall designed to be the Heart of the School. The Hall anchors the building’s everyday circulation, while becoming the gathering space for graduations and alumni events. Ivey is designed to feel like home. The building’s materials—stone, walnut, glass, copper, steel, and Douglas fir—were selected for their warmth and timelessness. The solid masonry on the exterior conveys the traditional materiality of Western University’s Gothic architecture, while the walnut accents throughout the interior create a warm, welcoming environment. Innovative site strategies and embedded technologies were employed to achieve LEED®Gold certification, including the selection of the site and vegetation, storm water and waste management plans, and the use of locally sourced materials. The quadrangle layout maximizes natural light and operable windows allow cross-ventilation throughout. The building has allowed the School to double undergraduate enrolment and expand the PhD and MBA programs while adding a new MSc program. More importantly, the design (shape, sightlines, and comfort) of the 20+ case-study classrooms is essential to enhancing the School’s teaching methods, and desirability to incoming students.