School of Public Health & Health Sciences at UMass Amherst

The SPHHS Hub now functions as a lively academic and social center for the School of Public Health and Health Sciences, bringing together classrooms, seminar spaces, and student services in a setting that supports both structured learning and everyday interaction. Its central atrium, defined by a large glazed façade, opens directly to the plaza to form a seamless indoor-outdoor environment for events and informal gatherings. A primary campus walkway leads into this space, where shaded seating beneath honey locust trees and a flexible front lawn accommodate daily use as well as larger campus activities. In support of the LEED goals for the project, the plaza features permeable paving and two bioretention basins that manage stormwater with native plantings, while two mature existing trees have been preserved to maintain continuity with the surrounding landscape.