Herzog & de Meuron and Sasaki Complete Ford Student Center at Amherst College

The Ford Student Center at Amherst College, a 144,000-square-foot building crafted by Herzog & de Meuron with Sasaki serving as the executive architect, has officially opened. This nearly $150 million project revitalizes the Merrill Science Center from 1968, preserving its lower levels while incorporating a mass-timber structure above, achieving a 30 percent reduction in embodied carbon. The facility includes a continuous staircase, a first floor featuring a pub, café, banquet halls, and music rooms; a dining hall on the second floor for 900; game and meeting spaces on the third; and a black-box theater, lounge, dance studio, and prayer rooms on the fourth. It debuted in 2026, targeting environmentally aware students with 34 percent savings in operational energy.