Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management has announced plans for a new building on the Evanston campus intended for collaboration in a technology-enhanced space.
The building is the centerpiece of the school’s Full Circle Campaign, a $600 million fundraiser that hopes to further Kellogg’s position as an MBA school and reinvent business education. It will replace the current James L Allen Center building at 2169 Campus Dr., next to the Kellogg Global Hub.
“Kellogg has always been at the leading edge of business education, creating exceptional experiences for students while driving groundbreaking research that shapes business and society,” Northwestern President and Kellogg Professor of Finance and Real Estate Michael Schill said in the announcement press release.
“The new building and Full Circle Campaign will bring that work to new heights, enriching Kellogg’s facilities on the Evanston campus and attracting students from around the world,” Schill said.
Timeline and costs
Evanstonians can expect the project to begin in the winter of 2025, and be completed by the fall of 2027. The building will close after Thanksgiving this year. Demolition will last from January to April in the winter of 2025.
Half of the building’s funding was already secured through the “quiet phase” of fundraising. Several donors made $10 million gifts, including university trustees Bon French ’75, ’76 MBA; Mike Shannon ’83 MBA and Kimberly Querrey ’22, ’23 MBA.
Northwestern Medicine and the Zell Family Foundation also made contributions to help strengthen Kellogg programming.
Building design
The building will be designed by Kohn, Pedersen and Fox Associates, a New York City-based architectural firm.
The design features nearly double the seating and 21,700 square feet of classroom space — a jump from the 16,250 square feet in the existing Allen Center — with a total building square footage of 246,420.
The remaining square footage includes group study spaces, production studios, kitchens, offices, lobby and lounges, guest residences and a fitness center.
“Our design for the new building celebrates the beauty of the lakefront and further establishes a Kellogg campus at the university,” said Hana Kassem, design principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox.
The building is also expected to earn LEED v4 status from the U.S. Green Building Council, and is conceptually inspired by connections to nature.
The design is intended to “promote well-being by incorporating natural materials and organic textures throughout the interior spaces, combined with cutting-edge dynamic learning and collaboration environments that further the mission and reach of Kellogg,” Kassem said in the press release.
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