The Carl and Ruth Shapiro Campus Center includes a library, bookstore, cafe, auditoriums, a three-story atrium and a variety of offices and function rooms. Brandeis, which was founded in 1948 and lacks a traditional quad layout, offered no obvious site for the campus center. Charles Rose Architects tackled this problem by placing the Shapiro center at the geographical heart of the campus, a nod to the center’s goal of heightening the quality of student life and a symbolic gesture that puts the student at the center of the university. A parking lot and aging building were demolished to make way for the center, which opened the way for new lines of access that link the center to the admissions and administrative building, the Rose Art Museum and a large theater. Significantly, the center creates new landscapes, including a courtyard, gardens and an expansive central green space that the Post-War campus did not have before.

The center itself is really two buildings, connected by a three-story atrium. By creating two separate wings, the architects not only create distinctive parts for the buildings many functions but also offer a gracious means for the majority of rooms to enjoy tremendous amounts of natural light. The atrium is criss-crossed by catwalks that connect the building’s upper levels. Sculptural in design, the exterior of the north side is clad in copper panels, which enhance the building’s sculptural volume; limestone and copper clad the south side, which is also marked by a colored-glass curtain wall.