In their latest project in their Miami home base, Arquitectonica designed the new Thomas P. Murphy Studio Building for the University of Miami School of Architecture. Opening on November 29, the 20,000 square-foot building will serve as a design laboratory and collaborative space for students, providing digital fabrication facilities, exhibition areas, and plenty of space for social and public functions. 

Located at the center of an intersection, the building creates a plaza and pathway that links the campus to the Miami Metrorail. Topped by a warped concrete roof, the building was designed like an oversized shed, Arquitectonica describes. “The curve of the roof interacts with the curve at the entrance to demonstrate the plasticity of concrete.”

The building can operate without any artificial light during the daytime and it also features 18-foot-high hurricane-resistant glass panels. The main entrance leads into an informal lobby, which then continues into a nave-like space that runs through the studios. The studios' open plan is based on a 25-foot square module that can accommodate various desk configurations ranging from 90 to 130 workstations.

The east and west walls of the central volume are covered in felt so that students can pin up their work, while the nave has movable boards for informal critiques and exhibitions. Different wall materials also signify the different uses of the open studio space; for instance, curtains for jury areas, glass and panels for seminar and meeting spaces, and concrete for the fabrication lab. Two glazed, freestanding pavilions serve as faculty and visiting-professor offices that can be redesigned and rebuilt by students every year.