For the Olayan School of Business, Machado Silvetti designed a building that celebrates the production and transmission of knowledge, and the richness of the school’s academic life. The design is anchored by an oval lawn, carefully sited on-axis with the existing steps that connect the school to the Mediterranean Sea. The L-shaped four-story building wraps around this lawn, its totally transparent and traversable ground floor reinforcing the connection with its immediate surroundings and promoting collegiality within the campus. An open courtyard carves itself into the building, providing a moment of respite on this otherwise busy floor, which houses the school’s lobby, an auditorium, a café and terrace, student facilities, mailboxes, and related social programs. 

The second floor contains undergraduate education facilities, while the third is home to graduate education and the MBA program. On the fourth floor, the Executive Education program and a dean’s office enjoy increased privacy and lower foot traffic.  

A pre-cast block façade echoes the warmth of the local Forni limestone used throughout the campus, arranged in screen-like patterns that recall the wooden mashrabiya typical of the region. On the lower floors, tighter openings in the screen provide shading for classrooms, while on the upper floors, larger apertures capture views of the sea from faculty offices.

“The Olayan School of Business results from focused attention on its program, the production and the transmission of knowledge, the quality of its interior life, and the specific particularities of the school, its personality, and its people.”

— World Architects