McKinley Building Renderings

The renovated and expanded McKinley Building is a collaboration.

In 2005, the Dean's Advisory Council matched, dollar for dollar, a $250,000 gift from Michael Forman, chair of Pacific Theaters Corporation and a former AU trustee.

This allowed the School to hire Bowie Gridley, of Georgetown, to design the building, shown in the renderings and floor plans below.

We recruited Communications Engineering Inc.--CEI, a leading media technology firm, which engineered the new Bloomberg building in New York and The Newseum on the Mall in Washington as well as many network and cable television studios and post-production facilities. With CEI's help, we're confident that the renovated McKinley will have the technology capacity it needs to take us well into the 21st century.

Take a virtual tour

Converged Newsroom

Anchoring the main lobby and visible from two floors of the building, the Converged Newsroom will bring together, in one place, all the tools our students will need for print, video, audio, online and multimedia storytelling. It represents the School's commitment to developing the highest level of practice, across platforms, in all of our professional disciplines—journalism, film and public relations. View larger image

Aerial View

The renovated and expanded McKinley Building will lie at the main crossroads of the University. Situated between the Library and the Mary Graydon Center on the Friedheim Quad, it will be at the center of campus--and passed by most students every day.  View larger image

North Elevation

The new McKinley will preserve the old structure’s traditional façade, while the openness and transparency of its modern addition will celebrate free expression and creative activity. View larger image

West Elevation

McKinley’s outdoor plazas and indoor lobbies, lounges and event spaces will provide facilities to host conferences and festivals, support collaboration among students, faculty and alumni, and showcase their individual and collective achievements. View larger image

TV Studio

McKinley’s TV studio—featuring digital and graphic production tools plus Web and fiber delivery systems—will let students, faculty and alumni work together on video documentaries, public service announcements and other professional projects created for distribution on cable, public television and Web sites. View larger image

200-Seat Theatre

The new theatre will provide a site for screenings of our alumni’s films and television shows, conferences with our colleagues in the Online News Association and other professional groups, and programs developed with The Washington Post, Discovery Communications, the Newseum and other long-time partners. View larger image