Muma College of Business USF, University of South Florida Building, FL Architecture Photos
Muma College of Business at University of South Florida
Higher Education Building Development, Florida design by ikon.5 architects, USA
Apr 16, 2021
Kate Tiedemann College of Business, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Design: ikon.5 architects
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida, USA

College of Business, University of South Florida St. Petersburg
Photos by Brad Feinknopf

Conceived as an athenaeum for business scholars, the three-story, 68,000-square-foot structure takes inspiration from its Tampa Bay setting and the indigenous coral stone that lines its shore. Like the stone, the building is a porous container with openings carved out of its volume that house program and allow sunlight and landscaping to penetrate deep within.
One of these openings is the light-filled central commons and scholars? garden that support casual learning and encourage productive collisions between students and faculty. The multi-story commons and scholar garden are spatially intermeshed and ringed with active programs spaces including a trading room, community room, break rooms and classrooms that connect the learner to their environment.

The most unique feature of the building is its glass façade that metaphorically recalls the openings in regional organic coquina or coral stone. To achieve the impression and depth of surface one would find in coquina, the design team created an inventive com...