Belden Brick

Tepper School of Business

Pittsburgh, PA

ARCHITECT

Moore Ruble Yudell

DISTRIBUTOR

R.I. Lampus Company

PRODUCTS

Custom Blend:
470-479 Light Range Smooth
870-874 Velour
Goldenrod Ironspot Smooth

The Tepper School of Business is an expansion initiative at Carnegie Mellon University to create a new integration model across the campus's top-ranked academic disciplines. The Tepper Quad spans 315,000 square feet and houses undergraduate and graduate programs alongside the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. Moore Ruble and Yudell architects have sculpted a flexible hub that interacts as an interconnected B-school partner alongside engineering, design, computer science, policy, and the arts. The Tepper Quad's powerful proximity rapidly creates and capitalizes upon innovative partnerships between the Tepper School and the other top-ranked Carnegie Mellon colleges.

Brick color would become one of the project's challenges, but the design team knew it was essential to get it right. Jeanne Chen, FAIA, principal at Moore Ruble Yudell, worked closely with The Belden Brick Company to make subtle adjustments to the bricks’ shale and clay content to produce more vivid golden custom hues than the standard campus buff. The resulting masonry work marries the historic brickwork on other buildings on campus while offering its unique design. The varying colors of brick on the exterior of the new building are patterned and warm, making the large structure beautiful and inviting.

The exterior consists of rectilinear volumes clad in a custom color blend of 21" Roman 470-479 Light Range Smooth, 870-874 Velour, and Goldenrod Ironspot, fired in our beehive kilns at Plant 4, counterpointed with glazed "void" elements syncopated and rotated to break up the visual mass. The building's contemporary expression respects the campus's historic buildings, which rely on buff-colored masonry. In response to Pittsburgh's frequently overcast skies, the design team customized a masonry mix that gives the Tepper Quad warmth even on the cloudiest day. Visual interest is achieved through the 3-D play of the brick and the glass areas, which breaks up the solid portions and allows for an “outside-in” feel as well as plenty of natural light.


Architect: Moore Ruble Yudell
Masonry Contractor: Franco Associates
Brick Distributor: R.I. Lampus Compan
Photography: Albert Večerka – ESTO, Carnegie Mellon University, Moore Ruble Yudell

RECOGNITION:
2019 Brick in Architecture Award, Silver Winner: Educational (Higher Education)
2019 AIA Pittsburgh Design LARGE: Honor Award
2019 AIA|LA COTE AWARDS, Typology: Educational Citation Award
2019 American Architecture Award
LEED Gold, Awarded Gold certification from Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design\

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