Stanford GSB Knight Management Center

On the northeast side of campus, the Knight Management Center feels like a small modern campus of its own. Its buildings wrap around landscaped courtyards and a three-ton wall of flipping color tiles animates one facade. Since April 2011 this has been the home of the Stanford Graduate School of Business, better known as the GSB.

It is not a tourist attraction in the usual sense. There is no ticket desk and the classrooms are busy. Still, the outdoor spaces, the public art and the two cafes are easy to enjoy on a weekday visit. This page covers the architecture, the green design, the art, dining and parking. For the business school's role in the startup world, see our guide to Stanford entrepreneurship programs.

Why the GSB built a new campus

The business school spent decades in older buildings. In 1937 it moved into the History Corner of the Main Quad. By the 2000s it was working out of three aging buildings. The school was also rethinking how it taught. A new, more personal curriculum needed more and different rooms: small spaces for leadership labs, team rooms for group work and flexible classrooms for hands-on teaching.

In August 2006 the school announced a $105 million gift from Phil Knight, the Nike cofounder and a 1962 MBA graduate. At the time it was the largest gift ever made to a business school. Stanford GSB says the finished facility cost $345 million. Knight's gift served as the down payment. Construction took 31 months. In April 2011 the school moved out of three aging buildings and into the new complex.

The architecture

The design architect was the firm Boora Architects, now known as Bora. A 2011 description put the complex at about 360,000 square feet in eight buildings arranged around three quadrangles, with an 870-car garage underground. Today the GSB describes the site as 12.5 acres with nine buildings, 100 classrooms and two dining facilities. The difference likely reflects how buildings are counted, so treat the numbers as approximate.

The layout echoes the Main Quad in spirit, with buildings set around courts, but the materials are modern. Narrow classroom buildings with tall windows let daylight reach deep inside. Sliding glass doors and skylights blur the line between indoors and out. The school says more than 90 percent of occupants have a direct view outside and 80 percent of spaces get natural daylight. Half the site is open space planted with drought-tolerant native plants.

Buildings you will see named on the map include:

• The Gunn Building
• Zambrano Hall, which carries Peter Wegner's flip-digit wall
• The Bass Center, which houses the library
• The McClelland Building
• Arbuckle Dining Pavilion

Inside are a 600-seat auditorium for big speakers, about 70 small rooms that double as study and breakout spaces, medium classrooms for 11 to 39 students and larger rooms for 66 to 80. Next door, the Schwab Residential Center, designed by the Mexican architect Ricardo Legorreta, houses full-time students. Our guide to Stanford architecture puts the GSB in the context of the wider campus.

LEED Platinum and green design

The Knight Management Center earned a LEED Platinum rating, the highest level of certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The GSB lists the measures behind it:

Water needs are topped up by Stanford's Central Energy Facility and the campus lake water system. On a campus with thousands of daily cyclists, the bike parking matters as much as the solar panels.

The art

The Knight Management Center's art is reason enough to stop by. The Berkeley artist Peter Wegner created five pieces for the new campus. The GSB's artwork page features four:

• Monument to Change as It Changes. On the side of Zambrano Hall, a computer-controlled wall of 2,048 flip-digit modules like those on old European train station boards, but with colored cards instead of letters. The cards flutter into shifting patterns that Wegner designed not to repeat within an eight-hour cycle. The piece weighs about three tons and was made by a Swiss company. Engineers had to add steel to the wall to carry it.
• Ways to Change. Near TA Café, 300 glossy black panels lit from behind, each printed with an adverb that can modify the word change, from intangibly to fearlessly. The board lights up in groups and patterns.
• Monuments to the Unknown Variables. Large x and y structures in the McCoy Family Courtyard.
• Footprint. A quote and a footprint from Phil Knight urging students to keep moving forward.

Monument to Change is at its best when you stand still for a few minutes and let it cycle. The GSB offers a downloadable map of the buildings, key spaces and artwork on its visitor page. For more outdoor art, see our guide to public art at Stanford.

Eating at the GSB

The GSB's visitor dining page lists two places:

The GSB says you can dine indoors or out at Arbuckle. Because both places appear on the school's visitor page, they are a good bet for a weekday lunch. Our page on where to eat on campus lists more options nearby.

Events and speakers

The GSB brings in a steady stream of business leaders, founders and investors. The 600-seat auditorium hosts the largest talks. The school also runs a well-known speaker series called View From The Top. Most of these events are for students, alumni and invited guests rather than walk-in visitors. For events open to the public, check the GSB's events listings and Stanford's main events calendar. Read the access notes on each listing before you go.

If you are in town for the startup and investor scene rather than a lecture, our guides to Sand Hill Road and tech and startup events are more useful.

Getting there and parking

The GSB's address is 655 Knight Way. Jane Stanford Way in front of the center is now a bike and pedestrian mall, so taxis and rideshares should use the passenger turnaround in front of the Schwab Residential Center. The GSB gives 680 Jane Stanford Way as the address for that turnaround.

The GSB also links to Stanford's virtual tours for anyone who cannot make the trip. If you can, pair a walk through the Knight courtyards with the nearby arts district and the rest of our Stanford visitor guide.

Frequently asked questions