Spelman College teams up with Studio Gang for a community-focused art & science center

Since 1881, Atlanta's Spelman College has aimed to empower women of African descent to go forward and do great things. 

Now, with the opening of the ambitious Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Innovation and the Arts (CI&A), Spelman is investing further in not only its cutting edge art and STEM programs, but in the Westside Atlanta community in which this new center sits. 

The 82,500-square-foot building was designed by Studio Gang, whose partnership on the project was announced in 2017. Then-president Dr. Mary Schmidt Campbell, who was two years into her presidency at Spelman and went on to become the building’s namesake, welcomed them to the project in an initial announcement. 

Spelman College tells AIA the foundation of the partnership lies in the firm’s community mindset and creativity: 

"It was important that we partnered with an adventurous and innovative architectural team who could build on [our] rich history," the college said in a statement, adding that the CI&A was designed to inspire "creativity and forward-thinking." An "interdisciplinary makerspace," the Arthur M. Blank Innovation Lab, allows students space for what the college calls "experimental pedagogy;" additionally, the building will house a 3,200-square-foot black box theater for performances and screenings. 

Founded by Jeanne Gang, FAIA, in 1997 and headquartered in Chicago with offices around the U.S., as well as France, Studio Gang's ethos was particularly suited for this project. The firm is no stranger to educational building design, and their Kresge College Expansion building located at the University of California, Santa Cruz recently won a 2025 AIA Architecture Award. The opening of the CI&A makes it one of over ten educational buildings they have completed. 

Spelman’s legacy in the Atlanta community and in collegiate spaces is already well cemented. But with the opening of the CI&A, Spelman’s footprint has expanded in more ways than one. The building is a departure from the college’s historic grounds on the Westside of Atlanta. 

This spring, the CI&A officially opened to students and the public, and has since affectionately been referred to as the “front porch” of Spelman’s campus. It welcomes students, the Atlanta community, and the powerful new ideas that will inevitably come to life in the building's walls. Juliane Wolf, AIA, design principal and partner at Studio Gang, served as design principal on the CI&A. She says making the new space "inviting but not imposing" for students and the community was top-of-mind in its conception. 

“It needs to be a place that doesn't force interaction on day one, but rather encourages a gradually closer relationship between Spelman and the community,” says Wolf. “Dr. Campbell, who was very deeply involved in the project, spoke a lot of this need. So together, we created this concept of the porch, which is about making the building and its surrounding spaces welcoming while also sparking curiosity about what’s happening inside. The first time people interact with the building, they may not go inside. Maybe the next time they’re there, they go inside to visit the gallery or see a performance. It’s like when you have new neighbors and find yourself hanging out on the porch, getting to know one another. That aspect of the project was really intriguing to us.”

"What is really interesting is that this particular building is being used by so many different disciplines of Spelman,” Wolf says. “How do you make something work for everyone? How do you build consensus around one solution and then manage expectations for how you bring it to life? Those expectations also might be changing as these disciplines are evolving through new technology and innovation. We stayed flexible and heard a lot of voices because we knew there would not be one obvious, immediate answer.”

The building exists at the intersection of the arts and STEM, and to support women of African descent in gaining opportunities in these fields, which Spelman has a long history of already. It’s not just that the separate disciplines of the arts and STEM are housed here; the combination of all disciplines is encouraged in the CI&A and Spelman campus at large. These tenets inform the design and fabrication of the building, and the programming and classwork that will now take place within it.  

At the CI&A, the lines of campus and community blur just as those between the arts and sciences do. The challenge for Studio Gang was in the need to make such an ambitious project work for an increasingly large overlap of truly unique populations. Studio Gang’s approach, Wolf tells AIA, was to remain fluid as the building and its future user’s’ needs evolved throughout the building’s conception and fabrication. 

“What is really interesting is that this particular building is being used by so many different disciplines of Spelman,” Wolf says. “How do you make something work for everyone? How do you build consensus, and then expectations, for how you create the solution that works for everyone? Those expectations also might be changing, if the people that are involved with it are changing. We stayed flexible for a while to make sure that there is not one obvious, immediate right answer, but to really hear a lot of voices.” 

As for its design, the CI&A’s aesthetic draws from the surrounding Spelman buildings but with modern materials and flourishes. Much of the campus is constructed with Flemish bonded brick, which makes an appearance in the building alongside the contrast of a more modern flat metal paneling, recalling the historical context of the building while looking to its next chapter. The symbolic nature of the material honors Spelman’s past with an invitation to the future, and to the collaborative nature of the building.

Within the expansion of the campus through this building, Spelman takes on another new goal—achieving LEED Silver certification for the Center. Through sunshades, skylights and technology to be added at a later date such as rooftop photovoltaic panels, the innovation of the building itself will not only reduce its environmental impact but allow students to use the multidisciplinary, indoor-outdoor spaces for their work year-round. 

“The double-height atrium, known as The Hive, houses offices, a conference and event center, and a rooftop terrace where faculty, staff and students can convene to collaborate, study or create,” Spelman College says. “This space also features a second gallery for the College’s Museum of Fine Art, a dance performance studio and a small café, providing access to arts and culture for both students and the broader public.”

While a hub for student innovation, the CI&A also readily welcomes the community on which the building sits through its doors. A campus and community entrance allow for ease of access for students and patrons. Studio Gang and Spelman worked with the Westside Atlanta community to ensure a mutually beneficial space. 

“The CI&A creates a unique opportunity for Spelman to establish new connections with neighboring communities,” Spelman College says. “The College is working toward partnerships with community organizations to host programs, workshops, and educational sessions that will be open to students and the Westside Atlanta community.” 

Just a few months after its opening, Spelman kicked off its hybrid community and student events with a fireside chat that encapsulated the interconnection of the arts and STEM, much like the CI&A building does. 

“Spelman partnered with Black Women Film Network to host a STEAM (science, engineering, arts and mathematics) Fireside Chat featuring a director, editor and the lead actress from the upcoming Marvel series ‘Ironheart—which centers around a teenage genius inventor,” Spelman College says. “The event was open to students and the community and emphasized the cross-disciplinary nature of STEM and the arts. In the future, Spelman plans to host similar events that engage local organizations, students and neighboring communities.”

As the world changes and technology advances, the lines between nature and building, campus and community, and art and science increasingly blur. Spelman College ensures their students and community will be at the forefront of these advancements by equipping the CI&A with cutting edge design from Studio Gang, and perhaps more importantly, room for growth and change. 

The Mary Schmidt Campbell Center for Arts and Innovation is located on the campus of Spelman College at 440 Westview Dr. S.W., Atlanta, GA 30310. Learn more about the College, the CI&A and keep up with planned programming at spelman.edu and @spelman_college on Instagram. 

Learn more about Studio Gang, their work and ethos on their website, their AIA Firm Directory page and @studio_gang on Instagram. 

M.K. Koszycki is a freelance writer covering culture and design. She lives in Virginia.