Art and Architecture Building

Opened in 1974, the Art and Architecture Building includes a range of excellent facilities, including generous studio space, galleries, classrooms, well–equipped laboratories, a 150-seat lecture hall, conference and seminar rooms, faculty and administrative offices and extensive workshops arranged around a central courtyard. The design studio, three-fourths of an acre in area, is the largest in the country. The building conforms to all barrier-free design regulations, and handicapped parking is available. Computer access is widely available and distributed throughout the building.

Exterior image of Art and Architecture Building

Located on the third floor, the architecture/planning studio offers 30,000 square feet of continuous workspace and is the largest academic studio in the world. The large, open plan is configured with modular workplaces for each student electing a studio course. All tables and storage units are movable in order to permit easy adaptation to a variety of class sizes, projects, and methods of instruction. Seminar rooms and flexible design review spaces are located at each end of the studio.

Architecture and urban planning education require collaboration, design and build spaces. The A. Alfred Taubman Wing and renovation provides additional studio space and areas for group projects and collaboration: eight capstone rooms, three meeting rooms, two lounges, a reading room, and a 5,700-square-foot commons. The Commons also hosts conferences, final reviews, and other special events.

Taubman Wing entry level

The interior space of the addition is organized by a series of spiral-like stairs and ramps that create perambulatory sequences designed to create encounters between faculty and students. Externally, a saw-tooth roof reflects warm light, unifying the orthogonal geometry of the studio with the hexagonal, ramped commons. An exterior plaza links the new building with the existing one, providing an outside gathering space to foster community. Structural improvements, including an updated HVAC system and a new roof, upgrade the existing building.

/ Maps and Directions

Directions

From Detroit via I-94 (heading West)

Take I-94 West to US-23 North (Exit 180). From US-23, take Exit 41 (Plymouth Road). At the end of the exit, take a left (west) onto Plymouth Rd. Go approximately two miles and take a left onto Murfin Road (there’s a BP gas station on the right). To reach the visitor parking lot in the back of the Taubman College building, take a right onto Bonisteel Boulevard when you reach the end of Murfin. Take the next left, which is Fuller Road and pull into the first parking lot on your left.

From Chicago via I-94 (heading East)

Take 1-94 West to exit 172 [Jackson Avenue], Merge onto Jackson Ave, continue 1.4 miles – Jackson Ave. merges into W. Huron Street. Continue on Huron 1.5 miles to Glen Avenue. Turn left at Glen. After .4 miles, Glen becomes Fuller Road. Continue on Fuller .7 miles – go straight through the light at Bonisteel – and pull into the first parking lot on your left.

From Toledo via I-75/US-23 (heading North)

Take US-23 North to Exit 41 (Plymouth Road). Turn left (west) off the exit onto Plymouth Rd. Go approximately two miles and take a left on Murfin Road (there’s a BP gas station on the right). To reach the visitor parking lot in the back of the building, take a right onto Bonisteel Boulevard when you reach the end of Murfin. Take the next left, which is Fuller Road and pull into the first parking lot on your left.

From Northern Michigan via I-75/US-23 (heading South)

Take I-75 to US-23 South (follow the signs carefully). From US-23, take Exit 41 (Plymouth Road). Turn right (west) off the exit onto Plymouth. Go approximately two miles and take a left on Murfin Road (there’s a BP gas station on the right). To reach the visitor parking lot in the back of the building, take a right onto Bonisteel Boulevard when you reach the end of Murfin. Take the next left, which is Fuller Road and pull into the first parking lot on your left.

/ Questions + Contact

See Taubman College Facilities Supervisor Andy Christenson, Room 2208, chrandy@umich.edu.