The Health and Human Services Building is a classroom and office building that houses a variety of health and education offices. The design of the building also included the design of a pedestrian connector between the new campus quad and the new student center. This pedestrian connector serves as a significant student space for the University. The Health and Human Services building is a four story academic and education building with a gross area of 120,000 SF, located in the central campus. A significant part of the site design and engineering package included the civil, hardscape and landscape design of a major pedestrian plaza and commons area. The commons connects flanking buildings, terminating to the north at the new Student Union and to the south in a new grand stairway and further to the campus quad.
The architectural and site program dictated a very formal courtyard and student space. The nature and use of this space required fairly large areas, both in hardscape and landscape. These spaces provide a foreground for the architecture surrounding the space. The hardscape areas conduct student traffic and link the buildings with each other and the quad.