The Central Campus Classroom Building is filled with innovative features, from swiveling auditorium seats to a room with 42-foot-long curved screens that hang in a circle from the ceiling.
But the University of Michigan’s newest building is more than just a sleek, high-tech instructional space. It is part of a movement across campus — and beyond — to make teaching and learning a more collaborative, engaging experience. The CCCB is the first facility at U-M to be designed entirely to support active learning in large courses.
“We wanted to make this building as forward-thinking as we could,” said Frances Mueller, associate vice provost for academic and budgetary affairs. “This is part of a larger effort to support innovative teaching campuswide.”
The 100,000-square-foot building opened in January at the intersection of Washtenaw and Geddes avenues. It is bustling this semester with students studying everything from physics and biology to dance theory and costume design.