Morgan State University Health and Human Services Center

Poised to make a significant impact on both the Morgan State University (MSU) campus and the wider community, the newly opened Health and Human Services Center (HHS) serves to educate today’s students for careers addressing critical, immediate and future healthcare needs. Showcasing a modern, intentional design by HOK Architects, the six-story, 208,000-square-foot building was constructed by Barton Malow with a high-tech infrastructure and sustainable building materials, including several high-performance Rockfon ceiling systems.

The HHS project is one of the largest construction undertakings in Morgan State’s history. As public, historically Black, research university in Baltimore, MSU sought to create a southern entrance of the University’s Main Campus, to replace an outdated facility and to unite multiple disciplines and programs in a single structure. Located where a former National Guard armory once stood, HHS repurposes the site with a building dedicated to improving people’s lives, health and wellbeing.¹

In total, Summit Construction installed 125,000 square feet of Rockfon acoustic stone wool and metal ceiling systems, supplied by Freedom Materials. HOK specified several Rockfon ceiling systems to meet the optimal performance requirements and aesthetic goals for each area within HHS. These included Rockfon Alaska®, Rockfon Artic® and Rockfon® Medical Plus™ acoustic stone wool ceiling panels; Rockfon® Spanair® metal ceiling panels; and Chicago Metallic® ceiling suspension systems.

The HHS project broke ground in September 2021 and was completed on schedule, nearly three years to the day, with a grand opening in September 2024. Today, the new HHS provides state-of-the-art amenities and a new home for the University’s School of Community Health and Policy and School of Social Work, the University Counseling Center and Prevention Sciences Research Center, and the School of Education and Urban Studies’ Family and Consumer Sciences Department.

The HHS Center’s completion moves MSU forward in achieving multiple goals of its 10-year strategic plan; among them, elevating the University to an R1 (“very high research”) Carnegie Classification. It was designed and built to stand the test of time for the next 50 years and beyond.³

Continuing a legacy founded nearly 160 years ago, MSU is now one of the nation's most diverse Historically Black Colleges and Universities, with more than 740 faculty serving a record-number 9,800+ students. It is the only university to have its entire campus designated as a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Anchored in a charming residential area of northeast Baltimore, the breadth of MSU’s expansive campus encompasses more than 185 acres extending beyond its sprawling campus proper, which features state-of-the-art facilities geared toward innovative teaching and learning in the 21st century.⁴

For MSU’s HHS Center’s unique design and functionality, HOK selected Rockfon’s acoustic stone wool ceiling tiles for its advanced classrooms, small and large group discussion rooms, offices, open-plan collaboration areas and connection spaces, and fully equipped laboratories including virtual reality/simulation and specialty labs, clinical practice and demonstration areas, and observation and focus rooms. Above the enclosed courtyard’s atrium, HOK specified Rockfon SpanAir metal ceiling panels accentuate the high-tech, modern aesthetic.

In both educational and healthcare settings, noise must be addressed to ensure concentration, clarity of communication, privacy of conversations as well as recovery and rest. Supporting these performance-based requirements, Rockfon’s acoustic ceiling solutions absorb sound and can achieve high Noise Reduction Coefficient (NRC) ratings, up to 0.90.

Effectively designed and constructed educational and healthcare spaces improve comfort to help reduce stress-related health issues and absenteeism, improve comprehension, shorten treatment times, and increase satisfaction levels among patients, students and faculty.

Healthcare providers rely on the built environment for more than comfort, it must provide a safe, clean setting to protect their patients and wider population from the spread of disease, deliver effective care and encourage healing. Rockfon Medical Plus ceiling panels meet Clean Room ISO Class 4 standards and microbiological class M1 Zone 4 (very high risk) requirements.

Specifically designed with durability and cleanability in mind, Rockfon’s medical range of ceiling tiles can easily be cleaned with a vacuum or damp cloth. In areas where infection control is a priority, Rockfon Medical Plus stone wool ceiling panels are specially treated to allow cleaning with diluted disinfectants and can be steam cleaned.

Along with effective, easy maintenance, Rockfon stone wool ceiling tiles and metal ceiling panels will not sag or fall out of the grid, making them a high-performing, long-lasting solution. Stone wool and metal inherently resist mold, mildew and moisture. With respect to indoor air quality, Rockfon stone wool ceiling products are UL® GREENGUARD® Gold certified for low emissions. This contributes to a healthier indoor environment, which is especially important for children, seniors and people with compromised immune systems.

In addition to the wellbeing of its occupants, MSU considers the wellbeing of the surrounding environment. Aligned with MSU’s 10-year facilities plan, all newly constructed buildings target LEED® Silver certification criteria or higher.⁶

Rockfon tiles and panels comply with all acoustic ceiling requirements for LEED v4, the National Institutes of Health Design Requirements Manual, and the Facility Guidelines Institute, the healthcare industry’s authoritative source for guidance on facility planning, design and construction. Aiding architects and building owners with their sustainable choices, Rockfon’s stone wool material is manufactured using abundant basalt rock and recycled materials. Both Rockfon ceiling systems’ stone wool and metal can be recycled at the end of their long lifecycle in the building.

Assisting with the building’s efficient operation, the ceiling panels’ bright white surface also delivers high light reflectance, enhancing interior illumination and contributing to energy savings. The diffused, reflected light minimizes glare on monitors and screens, reducing associated eye strain and headaches. This attribute complements the building’s large windows on the exterior walls and courtyard-facing interior walls, which provide well-lit rooms and campus views.

Access to the HHS Center’s rooftop gardens, outdoor greenspaces and walking paths further strengthens the link between the built and natural worlds, and students’ on-campus academic pursuits and their involvement in the wider community.

As the new, southern entrance of Morgan State University’s Main Campus, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Center completes one of the largest construction projects in MSU’s nearly 160-year history.

Designed by HOK Architects and built by Barton Malow, the six-story, 208,000-square-foot facility features high-tech infrastructure and high-performance, sustainable materials, including Rockfon ceiling systems installed by Summit Construction. HOK specified Rockfon ceiling systems to support the Center’s modern design, acoustic performance, sustainability and longevity, and the health and wellbeing of its students and faculty. 

Educating a compassionate and knowledgeable healthcare workforce, MSU is committed to producing next-generation nurses and allied professionals to care for the most underserved communities.⁷

^Sources

^{¹ Morgan State University, “Topping out” ceremony; May 12, 2023; https://www.flickr.com/photos/morganstateu/albums/72177720308220706/; and Barton Malow, Topping out ceremony; June 6, 2023; https://www.bartonmalow.com/news-events/newsfeed/morgan-state-university-health-and-human-services-tops-out/}

^{² Morgan State University, Grand opening ceremony; Oct. 3, 2024; https://vimeo.com/1014452792}

^{³ Morgan State University, Groundbreaking ceremony; Oct. 1, 2021; https://www.morgan.edu/news/hhs-groundbreaking-ceremony; and Grand opening ceremony; Oct. 3, 2024; https://www.morgan.edu/news/celebrating-a-new-era-of-equity}

^{⁴ Morgan State University; https://www.morgan.edu/about; accessed Oct. 5, 2024}

^{⁵ Barton Malow, Topping out ceremony; June 6, 2023; https://www.bartonmalow.com/news-events/newsfeed/morgan-state-university-health-and-human-services-tops-out/}

^{⁶ Morgan State University, Facilities Master Plan Update 2015-2025; Feb. 11, 2019; https://www.morgan.edu/Documents/ADMINISTRATION/OFFICES/facilities/MSU_FMP-Report.pdf}

^{⁷ Morgan State University, Groundbreaking ceremony; Oct. 1, 2021; https://www.morgan.edu/news/hhs-groundbreaking-ceremony}