CSU Northridge, Maple Hall

Students today have an abundance of choices in front of them, and it’s not just majors and course selections. Students now have the option for remote, hybrid, or in-person learning, which has changed how campuses are activated and how buildings are used. Modern -day higher education buildings must adapt to the changing pedagogy to reflect new multi-modal learning modes, while drawing students and faculty onto campus when they have the choice to learn and teach from anywhere.

Maple Hall is designed to encourage fluidity and movement through the campus. The building is situated in the middle of three plazas that converge as an atrium under the elevated classroom levels of the building, creating a central destination in the heart of campus. Spread across three floors, Maple Hall features modern classrooms equipped for new hybrid learning methods, lecture halls for more traditional teaching approaches, and collaboration spaces for students and faculty to socialize, study, and interact.

Gensler’s design resets expectations of the typical classroom building with desirable, hot-climate friendly, indoor and outdoor social settings that enhance the experience of being on-campus. As CSUN’s new general classroom building, Maple Hall impacts the experience of nearly every student on campus. Its welcoming characteristics substantially enhance the on-campus experience for students and faculty, making it a more desirable choice to come to campus for classes in an era of online and hybrid learning.