History

Stakeholder Engagement

18 constituent groups over eight workshops, totaling over 60 hours

Over the first seven months of the design process in 2023, the Architect/Engineer team met with these various stakeholder groups to discuss departmental needs, communal spaces, building operational systems, campus utilities, structural types, and more.

133 attendees at November 2023 town halls

In November 2023, two virtual town halls were hosted to inform internal and external stakeholders about the project and allow them to ask questions.

123 participants in presentations and small group discussions

From November 2023 through February 2024, 123 people participated across eight presentations and small group discussions.

176 responses to survey

From December 2023 through January 2024, 103 participants from the School of Social Work took a survey to provide input for building design.

58 participants in Q&A

In January 2024, 58 participants joined a Q&A with Dean Judy Postmus in person or virtually; learn more about the event and watch the recording using this link.

18 participants in design development subcommittees, totaling 12 hours

From February to April of 2024, 18 participants across four subcommittees provided in-depth feedback on specialty, faculty and staff, student, and all access spaces in the new building during the design development phase.

92 attendees at May 2024 town hall

A final hybrid town hall was hosted to present a preview of the building design; watch the recording using this link.

Timeline and Funding

Timeline

Part I Program 

In 2015, the Part I Program was initiated and executed to identify the need for a new school building, where it could go, what it would likely cost, and justify why it should happen; this document put the project into the state’s capital project queue.

Part II Program 

In 2021, the Part II program was executed to solicit feedback from all constituent entities and fully describe a list all functions, spaces, assets, and systems that would need to be incorporated into the new building.

State Funding 

In 2022, after recommendation by the University System of Maryland and approval by the Department of Budget and Management, the legislature passed and governor signed the appropriation bill that included the initial funding to begin design of a new building.

Program Validation and Concept Design 

In 2023, over the first seven months of the design process, the Architecture/Engineering team met with 18 distinct constituent groups, in addition to university facilities staff and leadership, over the course of eight workshops for a cumulative duration totaling over 60 hours. Those discussions centered around school-wide goals and departmental needs, as well as building operational systems and campus utilities.

Schematic Design 

Schematic design consisted of developing the conceptual vision, refining arrangements and adjacencies, selecting the utility and operational systems, establishing the structure, determining the enclosure systems, and composing the architectural massing in order to lay the groundwork to focus more on the project specifics.

Design Development 

In the beginning of the design development phase, the comments from schematic design were reviewed, discussed, and incorporated to advance the further development of the interior organization, general functionality, and the exterior articulation of the enclosure systems to refine the character of the building. This phase took place in the first part of 2024, during which feedback also was solicited from 18 participants across four subcommittees on all specialty, faculty, staff, student, and public spaces to ensure the inclusivity and accessibility of the new building. Sustainability and maintainability efforts continued with input from UMB utilities managers and maintenance experts. And lastly, as is done at every phase, two competing cost estimates were independently produced and reconciled, alternate options were considered, and value engineering was conducted to maintain financial control of the project on behalf of the state.

Funding

This project is being funded entirely through the state’s Capital Improvement Plan. Under this plan, all state agencies, including the University System of Maryland (USM) and its 12 institutions, can submit requests for capital funding to address their specific needs. UMB has been pursuing state capital funding since 2015 in order to consolidate the school under one roof and accommodate the growth of the school’s programs. Furthermore, the project allows UMB to address ~$25M in deferred maintenance and create modern environments for teaching, working, research, and community outreach.