UND unveiled more details Thursday on the design of its new medical school building, which is planned to focus on collaboration and efficiency.

Joshua Wynne, vice president for health affairs and dean of the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, welcomed an audience of community members, local legislators and UND students and staff, saying the new school is designed to help better prepare UND students for current trends in improving health care.

The public meeting was held in the current UND medical school building, in which space is more than maximally utilized, Wynne said.

The new building, which will actually have less square-footage than the current building, will increase teaching, research and clinical space, Wynne said. Faculty and administrative space will be decreased, because that space in the current building is inefficient, he said.

Representatives from lead designer JLG Architects of Grand Forks and its national design partners, Perkins+Will and Steinberg Architects, explained that the four-floor building will have an open, public corridor, which they called a main street, through its first two floors.

Areas of the school necessary to the public like alumni services, community relations and student affairs are arranged near the buildings entrance, while secure areas, such as those for research, are tucked farther into the building.

Efficiency

The design also heavily focuses on bringing natural light into the building, and the building is also designed to be energy efficient.

Parking was a priority in the design, Wynne said. Space for parking is part of the reason the buildings site was chosen at the southwest corner of the intersection of North Columbia Road and Gateway Drive.

There will also be a shuttle for students from the new medical school to the rest of campus, he said.

Read this article:
Open house for UND med school design