Right beside my residence hall, preparation for the new Farmer School of Business began during my freshman year with the deconstruction of Reid Hall. For the next three years, I would walk past the site as utility tunnels, foundations, and--finally, a building were constructed.

 

Miami University has always been known for its business programs, ranking high in many of the infamous media lists:

 

The Farmer School of Business was ranked 6th among public institutions in BusinessWeek’s fourth annual survey of the nation’s best undergraduate business programs. Overall, the school was ranked 18th in the nation. The magazine's 2009 survey looked at approximately 500 AACSB-accredited programs in the U.S.

 

It is the only Ohio institution in the top 25.

 

http://www.fsb.muohio.edu/news/090226181006%20Miami%27s%20Farmer%20School%20ranks%20among%20best%20in%20nation

 

Farmer's lowest rankings always relate to its facilities. Previously, the School was located in two halls dating from 1940 and 1950. While charming on the exterior, they require great upgrades to meet the needs of modern education.

 

Enter the new $65 million Farmer School of Business, largely funded with a $30 million donation from Richard T. Farmer, a Cincinnati businessman. Miami selected leading revivalist architect Robert A.M. Stern for the project:

 

The 223,000-square-foot Farmer Hall occupies a prominent site at the heart of the Miami University campus, facing historic Cook Field and adjacent to the confluence of the three main roads by which visitors arrive in the rural town of Oxford. Farmer Hall's three wings form three sides of a new quadrangle opening to the south and anchored by a stand of mature trees including a majestic sweet gum dating approximately to the university's founding in 1809.

 

The main entrance, centered on a colonnaded porch, leads to the Farmer School's double-height Commons, with adjacent study and dining rooms. A broad skylighted stair atrium connects the below-grade classroom floor to the office floors above. The variety of instructional spaces – cluster classrooms, breakout rooms, a trading room – reflects the school's pedagogical style, which emphasizes small group work, seminar instruction, and experiential learning. A prominent separate entrance to the school's 515-seat auditorium is visible from Uptown Oxford's High Street.

 

Farmer Hall's simple Colonial-Georgian facades of red brick, painted trim, and slate roofs carry forward the architectural identity of Miami University's historic campus.

 

http://www.ramsa.com/project.aspx?id=201

 

 

 

While the finishing touches are still being completed, the building opened for students this Monday.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that some of these photos were taken before final furnishings were installed

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

nice. they sure picked the perfect guy, stern is thee man for this kind of thing. also nice that a state u could afford both him and the job (is that farmer of farmers insurance?). looks great.

Thanks!

Looks great!  Stern doesn't always get respect in many architectural circles.  His firm does alot of historical based designs, like this one at Miami University.  But whether something is modern, retro, restoration, renovation or historical recreation - good design is good design.

 

The electronic stock ticker surrounded by traditional trimwork was neat modern twist though!  Thanks for the tour ink.

The interior is LEGIT.

Beautiful!

 

  I like it.

 

  I worked on this several years ago.

 

 

I'm generally not a big fan of trying to make 21st Century buildings look like 19th Century buildings, but if it has to be done, Bob Stern is the guy to do it.

This has to be one of stern's best works.  OSU wins Ill admit.  The 2 RAM Stern buildings on my beloved U of M campus leave some to be desired.

First I have seen of the interiors and they look great.  What I have always liked about this building from the first time I viewed the models a few years ago is the way it looks as though it is an old building that was added on to over the years (with the different wings and such).

Wow! That's an impressive addition to the campus; as others have noted, it's rare to see details from an earlier era incorporated into a new building, and done so beautifully.

This has to be one of stern's best works. OSU wins Ill admit. The 2 RAM Stern buildings on my beloved U of M campus leave some to be desired.

 

This is actually at Miami University in Southwest Ohio. I know my avatar is probably deceiving.

Wow, what a great building. It's most likely where I'll be spending a few years....

stern's getting raves for 15 cpw, a new 'throwback cpw' apt tower in manhattan.

it's probably the hottest apt building in the city (its on the left).

seems like he's really stepping up his game on these newest buildings.

WOW- Nice pictures!

Nice architecture. Very nice!

 

I wonder what my grandfather would think?

I'll never know as he's been gone since 1961.

He was a architect who help design Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C.

That is a sick picture of Central Park, MrNYC. What a view!

That's just about the view my office would have if it was about 20 floors higher and facing the opposite direction. (Alas, my office faces a brick wall and gets five minutes of sunlight a day, but at least I can walk to Central Park on my lunch break.)

Fantastic architecture. An appreciation for both scale and architectural style. Too bad the tables aren't wood.

 

The University of Kentucky is building a new quad for its law school and its also designed by Robert A.M. Stern.  I started a thread about the new law quad here.