Dedicated to the teaching of art in multiple disciplines, the Academy is a unique institution renowned for its intense focus and consequent high quality. Eliel Saarinen designed the campus during the late 1920's. The New Studio Building houses the departments of Ceramics, Fibers, and Metals, and forms a courtyard against the backside of Saarinen's Art Museum.

Within the Studio Building four volumes house the principal elements of the program: the exhibition areas, student studios, the artist-in-residence studios, and the workshops. The three disciplines are laid out on the three floor levels of each volume. A head volume physically connects the new building to the Art Museum, knitting the two together and providing a circulation hub. On the top two floors of this head volume are gallery spaces for students that can be used independently or in conjunction with the museum. These galleries promise to become a meeting place for a broad cross-section of the Cranbrook community.

With Rafael Moneo as principal design architect, Moneo Brock Studio prepared all schematic design and design development documents for this project in NY. We worked closely with user groups and consultants to develop a building that addressed all of their programmatic needs. The construction documents were developed in Ann Arbor by David W. Osler & Associates

This work also prompted the development of a Master Plan for the expansion of the Art Museum in close proximity to the New Studio Building.