White Hall Classroom Building Renovation

White Hall Classroom Building is undergoing a comprehensive transformation to create a contemporary and student-centric classroom building to support the university’s pedagogy while maintaining its status as an iconic campus building.

Originally built in 1969, White Hall, has been a fundamental part of education at UK. All students attend at least one class there during their time on campus, making it an iconic educational facility. Over the years, the building has seen only minor renovations and no longer meets the modern instructional and learning environments needed. The interior is dark and uninviting, lacking natural light and up-to-date instructional technology. The fixed furniture and outdated classroom arrangements limit instructional flexibility. There are no social spaces for students to gather before or after class, and the upper floors lack contemporary study spaces.

The design team envisions a modern student destination with bright, inviting and healthy spaces, while preserving the building’s iconic character. The design solution involves extensive changes on all three floors. New classroom layouts, modern instructional technology, collaborative learning spaces, and student social areas, will create a consistent experience throughout the building. The upper floors will be redesigned to offer larger classrooms with increased square footage per student and enhanced instructional flexibility. Casual study spaces are introduced in the wide corridors, expanding the learning environment. Daylit, open, flexible, and collaborative learning spaces will be added in each corner of the upper floors, to accommodate individual or group study.

On the main floor, existing large tiered classrooms will be reconfigured. Some will feature collaborative tiered seating and fixed tables, while others will be flat-floor classrooms, including an active learning classroom and a seminar-style horseshoe seating setup. Pre-function spaces facing the outdoor lawn will be expanded incrementally, respecting the original architecture. These new social areas connect with the pedestrian route and lawn, providing inviting and dynamic spaces where students can study and socialize.

An enhanced building exterior will meet sustainability standards. Wider classroom windows will increase daylighting and views to the outside. Expanded glazing at the corners engages pedestrians allowing them to observe activities inside the building.