In 2012 Montana State University received a $25 million donation from American Furniture Warehouse CEO and MSU alumnus Jake Jabs for the purposes of transforming its business school into one of the top programs of its kind in the US. One of the first steps was to create for the college a new academic building with cutting edge teaching facilities, meeting areas, interactive learning centers, smart flexibility and informal meeting spaces. The building was designed around a central forum, which was developed as a campus destination and gathering place to encourage interaction and idea-exchange between students and faculty college-wide.

Completed in 2014 and expected to achieve LEED Gold status, Jabs Hall was designed as a campus-wide model of energy efficiency and sustainable construction, and a team comprised of Hennebery Eddy Architects, Portland, OR; Comma-Q Architecture and mechanical engineering firm Morrison Majerle, both of Bozeman, MT, worked with general contractor Dick Anderson Construction, MSU facilities staff and the State of Montana A/E Division saw the project through.

A passive solar wall was installed on the roof of the building, and college facility managers expect the building could pay for itself within 10 years, given the energy derived from the solar array. Also, 52 500-foot-deep geothermal wells were completed, each holding 1,000 feet tubing—surrounding the building with 10 miles of tubing and generating millions of BTUs to support the university’s energy efficiency/reduction goals…