The groundbreaking ceremony of the Thomas P. Murphy Design Studio Building occurred at the University Of Miami School of Architecture (SoA) yesterday afternoon. University of Miami President Julio Frenk, UM Chairman of the Board of Trustees Stuart Miller, Dean of the School of Architecture Rodolphe el-Khoury and Tom Murphy, Jr., President and CEO of Coastal Construction, spoke about the building and its transformative significance to the School of Architecture.
The building will be LEED-certified and include studios for approximately 120 students, slated for completion in spring 2017. A fabrication lab and modern workstations, designed to enable advanced digital production, will accompany a lounge, computer lab, presentation areas, review spaces and offices to promote critical thought. The facility will occupy about 20,000 square feet, including outdoor workspace and an outdoor jury area.
Designed by Arquitectonica, the Thomas P. Murphy Design Studio Building is the firm's second architectural design for the university, following the Donna E. Shalala Student Center, which opened in 2014.