University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine

As the sole school of medicine in the state of Mississippi, UMMC has committed to expanding its undergraduate class size from 135 to 185 students a year with the goal of placing 1,000 new doctors in the State by 2025. The school has never had a centralized location or image of its own, and current teaching spaces are interspersed throughout the campus. UMMC’s first dedicated School of Medicine building is situated at the head of the expanding academic core, creating a significant presence on campus.

In order to blend the new construction with the existing facilities, CDFL and EGH drew inspiration from the original teaching hospital constructed in 1953 by incorporating the ‘brise soleils’ technique to the exterior to harmonize the architectural language of the facilities as well as providing sun shading.

The eighteen small-group classrooms are designed to be easily converted from lecture mode, to teamwork style, to group presentation and discussion. The goal is for each seat to have maximum access to all displayed information, and to offer the instructor the ability to facilitate the content. Network technology supports learning, and is integrated into the space providing each student access to shared display interfaces.

The large team-focused, multi-modal auditoriums are dynamic spaces that allow for grand rounds, guest lecture presentations, classroom activities, collaborative group interaction, and testing. The spaces are wider, shallower, and less steep than a traditional lecture hall, with non-fixed seats. Seating capacity can be easily converted from a less dense testing environment to a more dense presentation environment.

Joint venture with Eley Guild Hardy