ANN ARBOR—The Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan will host an official ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house for its new state-of-the-art facility March 13.

The ribbon-cutting will begin at 11:45 a.m. near the front doors of the building located at 701 Tappan St. The open house is 2-5 p.m.

U-M benefactor Stephen Ross, whose $100 million gift in 2004 was the impetus behind the new building, along with U-M President Mary Sue Coleman and Ross School Dean Robert Dolan, will take part in the ribbon-cutting and provide brief remarks.

The new world-class learning facility is designed to help catalyze business education by supporting the Ross School’s commitment to action-based learning. In form and function, it has been designed to support Ross’ collaborative culture and commitment to environmental sustainability.

“Our new facility helps us maintain our high standing and creates an optimal environment for our distinct, team-based learning that bridges theory and practice,” Dolan said. “Classrooms, offices and other spaces are arranged in a setting conducive to a great deal of collaboration inside the school. Technology designed into the building fosters interaction with firms and organizations around the world.”

The 270,000-square-foot structure, designed by New York City architects Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, stands six stories tall at its L-shaped center and three stories high around its perimeter along Tappan and Hill streets. Its exterior is constructed of terra cotta walls with a sandstone base. Glass walls at the top stories of the building provide panoramic views of the U-M campus.

The new facility gives the Ross School an architectural presence befitting its position as one of the nation’s top business schools, Dolan says. Its main entrance, located at the corner of Tappan and Monroe streets, provides a gateway to the business school campus in the form of a glassed-in “winter quad” known as the Davidson Winter Garden?a bright, airy and highly visible community space containing the Siegle Caf