Rowling Hall: The Vision
Through collaboration between university educators, architects, alumni, students, and business leaders, five core themes were identified that would set the pattern for how the building was envisioned
1. Attracting
Rowling Hall is designed to convene and inspire bright minds and enterprising leaders drawn from within the university campus and beyond. The exterior plaza, ballroom, auditorium, classrooms, student lounge, study rooms, and laboratory spaces are carefully crafted to invite learning, debate, and dialogue.
2. Overlapping Communities
Every corner of the building, from the expansive entry hall to the Moontower Café, is intended to facilitate conversations, purposeful interactions, and idea sharing between students from across degree programs and disciplines, faculty members, program staff, alumni, recruiters, business executives, and others. These communities come together to network, share ideas, and move business forward.
3. Tinkering
Hands-on learning is on display everywhere, from the entrepreneurial activities of the Jon Brumley Texas Venture Labs to the cutting-edge programs of the Center for Leadership and Ethics. Students can grow their companies in the Jon and Rebecca Brumley Accelerator or partner on experiential consulting projects around the world, using the latest technologies and idea-sharing environments such as the John C. GoLabs.
4. Innovating
Classrooms, conference spaces, and technology systems are designed for ultimate flexibility to match the teaching and learning approaches of modern higher education. Rowling Hall provides multiple tools for creating and communicating vital information, including an advanced studio for video and sound production and video networking capabilities. Individual spaces have been designed to allow the freedom to experiment with pedagogy and thought leadership long into the future.
5. Showcasing
Transparency is intentional throughout the building. Daylight and spectacular city perspectives are visible in the outdoor terraces, classrooms, and collaboration areas. Inside, the activities of learning centers, laboratories, and experiential learning programs are on display on every floor of the building. The inner workings of student projects, research activities, and career programs are a showcase that inspires participation and exploration.
