The Archives mentioned that the five decorative marble columns represent the classical orders of architecture and marked the future location of the Knowlton building. The columns were later incorporated into the building which was dedicated in 2004. Named after Austin E. Knowlton, an OSU alumni, who donated 16 million dollars to the school in 1994. The building includes classrooms, auditorium, studio, a library and gallery spaces. On top of the building there is a garden that you can see through the hole in the roof at the front of the building. Has received multiple design awards. Built on the old Ives Hall sight which housed the Department of Food, Agricultural and Biological Engineering, and Architecture’s student design students.
Knowlton is a very interesting and unique building which is great for architecture students. I have my Knowlton 2300 outlines class here and really enjoy the way the building looks. It is kind of confusing to navigate your way through the building. Looking at the building from the outside you can see that it is one of the only white buildings in this area. You can also see a hole in the roof at the front of the building which shows some of the rooftop garden. The inside of the building is very strange. The entirety of Knowlton on the inside is reinforced concrete, so it is very dull and grey throughout the building. There is also a cafe inside of the building towards the back on the first floor. Having the cafe is quite nice considering most architecture students have late nights working on projects.
I go to Knowlton every Tuesday and Thursday morning for class. It is a 9-minute walk from Morrill Tower to Knowlton Hall.