Pacific 2025 Regional Conference

CSUMB | Otter Student Union Ballroom

Buses will begin leaving campus at 10:30AM, and will leave every half hour until 12:30PM for campus. Registraion will be at the Otter Student Union. Look for aframe signs to direct you to the Student Union.

Conference Kick Off Ceremonial Tree Planting

Outside the Otter Student Union | CSUMB
Open to all conference registrants.

In alignment with the theme of “Buoyancy,” the conference will commence with a ceremonial tree planting event. This symbolic act represents growth, resilience, and the commitment to a sustainable future. The event will take place on the grounds of California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB), which has pledged to plant 2030 trees by the year 2030 to demonstrate their dedication to environmental stewardship and sustainability. This ceremonial tree planting will serve as a powerful reminder of the collective responsibility of higher education institutions to foster a greener, more sustainable, and more buoyant future for all.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the three core goals from the CSUMB’s Inclusive Sustainability Plan: Plant 2,030 Trees by 2030.
2. Take action to help restore habitat previously disturbed by decades of development
3. Explain simple methods for planting native trees that help them survive and thrive.
4. Participate in the campus community-building event

Rafting Up: Through College Life’s Journey and Swimming with Different Currents

Otter Student Union Ballroom | CSUMB

Presented by: Aaron Villarreal, Associated Students (AS) President, California State University, Monterey Bay

Mission-Driven Programming: Reimagining Student Life Spaces at UC Berkeley

Room 104 | BIT Building

Presented by: Wendy Hillis, Assistant Vice Chancellor, Campus Architect, University of California-Berkeley | Christiana Moss, Principal, Studio Ma, Inc | Bahar Navab, Assistant Vice Chancellor, University of California-Berkeley | Steve Sutton, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, University of California-Berkeley

To adapt to the shifting demographics and increasingly diverse needs of student populations, the University of California (UC), Berkeley is reimagining spaces to promote belonging, mobility, and campus engagement. This session will explore UC Berkeley’s 2023 student life master plan, which organizes student life programs around missions rather than administrative divisions, highlighting new typologies, identity intersectionality, and spaces for collaboration. Join us for actionable insights into alternative approaches for reorganizing student life spaces, which is particularly effective in fostering interdisciplinary exchange and enhancing campus vitality.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Outline strategies for reorganizing student life spaces to promote identity intersectionality and collaboration.
2. Identify mission-based strategies for campus services and student life programs.
3. Discuss methods for designing flexible, multi-use spaces that adapt to evolving student life needs.
4. Apply mission-based programming strategies to reorganize student life spaces.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Student Success, Retention, and Graduation
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Facilities Design; Facilities Planning; Student Life / Student Affairs; Student Services

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3354)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Reimagining Safe and Affordable Student Housing for a Dense Urban Campus

Room 1401 | CAHSS Building

Presented by: Simone Barth, Associate Principal, Mithun | Brendan Connolly, Partner, Mithun | Peter Hendrickson, Associate Vice Chancellor, Design & Construction, University of California-Los Angeles | Austin Wheelon, Preconstruction Manager, PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.

Campus housing is foundational for student retention and academic success, yet it’s often beyond the means of many students. To address the growing crisis of student homelessness, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) developed an affordable, co-housing model that changes the conversation around equity and diversity. In this session, we’ll explore the unique programmatic elements necessary for developing an equitable campus community. This case study will introduce a new model for vertically integrated co-housing solutions that you can apply on your campus when planning affordable housing projects that enhance student life and learning.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Evaluate three design strategies to consider for vertical integrated co-living housing that meets diverse students’ needs and allow for equity and wellbeing.
2. Identify three key strategies around intentional campus growth as well as the development of affordable student housing that is accessible to all and creates an equitable campus community.
3. Detail four methods of affordable, cost-effective housing construction techniques.
4. Advocate for affordable housing projects on your campus by incorporating community strategies that will be successful in gaining initial approval.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Resolving Inequities; Student Success, Retention, and Graduation
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Facilities Design; Facilities Funding; Student Housing; Urban Campus; Urban Design

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3480)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Subtract to Expand: Space Optimization and Migration at UW Medicine

Room 1180 | Library

Presented by: Jaclynn Eckhardt, Principal, DLR Group | Priyanka Saglani, Campus Planner, DLR Group

Academic medical centers are facing a crisis in space utilization efficiency and financial stability. The University of Washington (UW) Medicine has implemented new space guidelines to initiate migrations across a variety of campus settings in support of a more resilient future for research and clinical programs. Through recalibration of underused space, this enterprise will expand opportunities for revenue growth. This session will explore ongoing adaptations to strategic urban campus densification and capital cost reduction, inspiring further space optimizations across the UW Medicine’s facility portfolio.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Explain the advantages digital tools can provide during the facilities planning process.
2. Relate the importance of engagement, advocacy, and communication with leadership and impacted departments for a successful space planning initiative.
3. Review space assignment drivers, allocation targets, and guidelines to facilitate decision-making and clarify priorities across a diverse groups of unit representatives.
4. Consider lessons learned from the implementation of strategic space initiatives and change management across multiple departments.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3356)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

The Value of Inclusive Outdoor Space and Placemaking on Campus

Room 1188 | CAHSS Building

Presented by: Jason Franklin, AVP for Planning, Construction and Real Estate, Portland State University | Rebecca Ocken, Director, Portland Community College | Michael Zilis, Principal, Walker Macy

Since the isolation of the pandemic, students are seeking more meaningful connections with their campus communities. Outdoor and public spaces are often underestimated as meaningful components of building campus community, but there are physical and programmatic changes that campuses can apply to support student success and wellbeing through more inclusive, welcoming outdoor spaces. This session will compare two institutions working to foster greater belonging and student support through public open space improvements. We’ll illustrate methodologies for inclusive, achievable outdoor revitalization approaches that directly engage students and build community, inspiring you to tailor processes to your institution’s needs and campus context.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Explain how the improvement of campus outdoor spaces can foster greater community building, hands-on learning opportunities, and better reflect the distinct wellbeing needs of students.
2. Detail a framework for fostering inclusive dialogue and partnership-building with your campus community and beyond, resulting in meaningful, accessible, and inclusive redevelopment of healthy campus public spaces.
3. Engage administrative stakeholders to determine aspirational but achievable capital, programmatic, and operational strategies that support and sustain revitalized public spaces on campus.
4. Explore provided example approaches to making attainable physical improvements on your campus that have high impact on wellbeing and are authentic and inclusive for students.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Health and Wellness; Landscape / Open Space; Student Success

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3443)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

A Data-driven Approach to Revolutionize Campus Planning

Room 1180 | CAHSS Building

Presented by: Michael Helmer, Architect, The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP | Kristine Kenney, University Landscape Architect, Director of Campus Architecture and Planning, University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Elizabeth Moggio, Architect, Principal, The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP | Zubin Rao, Associate, The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP

Many campuses face real estate pressures, reduced funding, and aging assets, but often lack complete data sets or tools for visualizing the connection between campus priorities. Bold strategies and tools can help us find commonalities and opportunities in a time of limitless needs and constrained resources. We will detail an approach that considers cost, campus vision, and asset management goals to enable flexible solutions with a data-driven analysis of capital planning alternatives. Come learn how to determine which data matters and how to approach your campus’s challenges in a way that better supports the institutional mission and adaptation to change.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Find a new approach that syncs campus development with asset management goals.
2. Shift your planning focus from campus growth to being smart and intentional about campus planning projects by considering a data-informed plan that supports better project prioritization.
3. Apply a tool for data visualization, discover what data analytics can do, and discover how unique new tools intersect with architecture, planning, and supporting a campus mission.
4. Envision a flexible plan for development that you can pair with a tool that allows for collecting data into the future as well as adapting to funding adjustments, emerging priorities, or evolving sustainability and systems commitments.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Funding Uncertainty
Tags: Capital Funding; Capital Planning; Data; Facilities Assessment

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3442)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Campus Planning for a Sustainable, All-electric, and Decarbonized Future

Room 1188 | CAHSS Building

Presented by: Phil Boutelle, Decarbonization Infrastructure Program Manager, University of California-Santa Cruz | Alyse Falconer, Managing Principal, Point Energy Innovations | Sally McGarrahan, Program Manager, University of California-Berkeley | Matthew St. Clair, Chief Sustainability Officer, University of California Office of the President

Buildings contribute over a third of global carbon emissions and are a key focus for decarbonization. As legislation phases out natural gas and enforces stricter efficiencies, campuses must adapt to the demands of all-electric building design. In this session, experts from the University of California (UC) will cover strategies, insights, and costs of decarbonization with the goal of building a more sustainable and healthy future. Join us to gain effective, practical tools and project strategies for campus decarbonization as well as discover how electrification impacts utilities and requires cross-disciplinary teamwork.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Advocate for and make the case, both in reason and feasibility, for healthier, all-electric, and decarbonized new-build facilities and retrofits.
2. Discuss strategies for campus decarbonization and electrification in order to increase energy efficiency, reduce subsequent operating costs, and ultimately decrease carbon emissions for a healthier environment.
3. Gain tools to fully participate in cross-disciplinary teamwork among architects, planners, consultants, and real estate executives to effectively implement decarbonization strategies.
4. Discuss the importance of using tools such as decarbonization roadmaps, reviewing carbon reduction measures, and participating in life cycle cost analysis to effectively plan decarbonization projects.

Planning Types: Sustainability Planning
Challenges: Dealing with Climate Change
Tags: Carbon Neutral; Energy Efficiency and Conservation; Energy Infrastructure; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3398)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Campus Space Design for Student Diversity: Results of a Pilot Study on Belonging

Room 1401 | CAHSS Building

Presented by: Brodie Bain, Principal, NAC Architecture | Dustin Saalman, Director, NAC Architecture

A student’s success and sense of belonging are connected. While campuses invest heavily in DEI efforts, gaps still exist. Results from a focus group and visual preference survey reveal the role that space plays in how students of color experience belonging on campus. In this session, we’ll share these findings to demonstrate how spatial attributes can help students feel seen, valued, and connected to their campus community. Join us to uncover insights into campus space design that promotes student success and a sense of belonging.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify different spatial attributes that are connected to a student?Äôs sense of belonging.
2. Articulate how diverse user populations, particularly racial and ethnic minority students, perceive and connect with campus spaces.
3. Reflect on previous projects to look for insights and missed opportunities to promote a sense of belonging for all students.
4. Evaluate current methods for student inclusion in the design process for strategies to promote students?Äô sense of belonging.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Resolving Inequities; Student Success, Retention, and Graduation
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Facilities Design; Student Success

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3519)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Monterey Beach Station
Bus transportation will be provided to the reception.

Join us at the Monterey Beach Station for our opening reception. Just a mile from the conference hotel, you’ll enjoy beachside networking with colleagues while roasting s’mores and playing giant Jenga.

Monterey Conference Center | Steinbeck Ballroom

Thank you to our sponsor!

From Pan to Plan: Leaping Before We’re Cooked

Monterey Conference Center| Steinbeck Ballroom

Presented by: Dr. Ben Corpus, Vice President, California State University, Monterey Bay

Curating the Campus: How Public Art Fosters Belonging and Uplifts the Community

San Carlos 3 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Matthew Bibbens, Vice President for Campus Planning / Special Counsel, Claremont McKenna College | James MacDevitt, Professor of Art History and Art Gallery Director, Curator, Cerritos College | Kimberly Shiring, Director of Public Art, Claremont McKenna College | Mario Violich, Principal, Moore Ruble Yudell Architects & Planners

Public art has the power to foster campus growth and belonging through an inclusive process of selection, placement, and integration. This session will examine the role of public art within the campus ecosystem and show how site-specific art stimulates educational and social discovery. We’ll delve into case studies on private and community college campuses to demonstrate the value of integrated art programs that prioritize student engagement, reflecting a range of media and scales. Come learn how the curation and integration of participatory public art draws students and communities together in ways that invite and sustain educational discourse across diverse populations.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify strategies for implementing or augmenting an impactful public art program with varying mediums and different scales of capital investment for public and private institutions.
2. Detail how to engage students, faculty, and campus leadership in a collaborative public art program.
3. Discuss how public art fosters structured and unstructured learning as well as interdisciplinary and intergenerational social interaction.
4. Outline a campus planning framework for holistically integrating public art through strategic landscape and open space design.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Collaborative Design; Landscape / Open Space; Student Engagement

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3474)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Designing a New Campus for Student-centric Community Education

San Carlos 4 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Scott Adkins, Director of Educational Centers, West Valley, College of the Desert | Lilian Asperin, Partner, WRNS Studio | Daniel Johnson, Senior Associate / Senior Designer, WRNS Studio | Val Martinez Garcia, Acting Superintendent / President, College of the Desert

College of the Desert (COD) offers affordable education for a diverse student body, including many Hispanic, Latino, part-time, and first-generation students. The case study of COD’s new Palm Springs Campus, intended to serve as a regional hub of innovation, stands as an example of how supportive environments drive success, institutional growth, and meet workforce needs. We’ll demonstrate how we translated ‘student-centric’ into design principles that expand opportunities for non-traditional learners and business partnerships. Come learn actionable strategies for planning and designing student-centric spaces that promote inclusivity, collaboration, and discovery—all key factors for improving student engagement and retention.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Detail methods for integrating a campus into its community, ensuring proximity and access to complementary learning and work centers.
2. Through programming and design, identify links between curriculum, workforce development, and the local business community.
3. Discuss how to create diverse learning environments and career pathways through transparent, adaptable design that encourages exploration and fosters choice.
4. Consider campus planning and design within its regional economic and environmental context, encouraging students to be lifelong learners, community members, and business leaders.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Community College; Economic Development; Facilities Design; New Campus; Student Success; Underserved Students; Workforce Development

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3482)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Piloting Health and Wellbeing Metrics in University Capital Projects

10th Floor Ferrantes | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Sudikshya Bhandari, PhD Student, University of California-Davis | Debra Smith, Interim Associate Director Major Capital Projects, University of California-Davis | Megumi Yamanoha, PROJECT MANAGER, University of California-Davis

The University of California system recently incorporated wellbeing and diversity goals in its sustainability practices policy. Campuses must start planning how they will proactively move these goals forward. This session will provide a successful example of piloting new metrics—based upon the WELL Building Standard—in university capital projects to ensure and maintain occupants’ good health and wellbeing through cross-campus integration. Join us to explore opportunities for applying the WELL rating system’s ten concepts that elevate wellbeing and physical environment health impacts on your campus.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Strategize how to leverage existing campus actions across departments to create integrated solutions for health and wellbeing.
2. Outline methods for initiating student engagement to learn their perspectives and develop important health and wellbeing goals on your campus.
3. Define LEED certification requirements and focus on strategies to support wellbeing outcomes for different facilities.
4. Determine how your campus can pilot WELL Building Standard metrics by understanding the need for and importance of implementing them in future capital projects.

Planning Types: Sustainability Planning
Tags: Facilities Planning; Health and Wellness; Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED); Metrics; Student Engagement; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3377)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Achieving Net-zero Emissions With No Capital and No Debt

Room San Carlos 3 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Matt Milovick, Vice-President, Thompson Rivers University | Samson Tam, Director of Development, Creative Energy

The reduction of campus carbon emissions requires large investments in infrastructure, which is challenged by the realities of budgetary pressures. However, climate action doesn’t have to come at the expense of an institution’s core mission. Thompson Rivers University is transforming their campus infrastructure for net-zero emissions and a healthier environment without expending capital or taking on debt. This session will cover a novel procurement model along with a pathway to net-zero emissions that you can replicate on your own campus, providing you with the tools you need to take climate action now.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Determine whether the utility model for procurement can open the door for lowering or eliminating your campus’s carbon emissions for a healthier environment.
2. Compare your campus against the benchmark of Thompson Rivers University in regards to project costs and overall campus greenhouse gas emissions.
3. Review your campus infrastructure for compatibility with low-carbon district energy systems.
4. Apply a new tool for updating your campus plan for decarbonization, resulting in a healthier and safer campus.

Planning Types: Sustainability Planning
Challenges: Dealing with Climate Change
Tags: Energy Infrastructure; Facilities Funding; Sustainability (Environmental); Zero Net Energy (ZNE)

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3310)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Launching and Indigenizing a Community College’s First On-campus Housing

Room San Carlos 4 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Matthew Emerson, Architectural Sector Leader, HDR, Inc. | Kelly Shopland, Executive Director, Indigenous Education, North Island College

This session will delve into the 10-year journey from engagement to realization of the first ever student housing at the North Island College, Comox Valley; its design reflects the history, architecture, and traditional gathering spaces of the K’ómoks First Nation. Engagement sessions with the K’ómoks First Nation resulted in the integration of indigenization planning, which was critical to building consensus and buy-in for the project as well as securing funding. Come learn how a strategic and communications plan, which includes concrete approaches for active stakeholder engagement, can support projects with atypical programming requirements, such as those with unique cultural history.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Advocate a process of listening and engagement to campus leadership while forming project visions and guidelines.
2. Describe a sound foundation for an effective collaboration process that sets clear expectations, defines work processes, and establishes various levels of required engagement and input.
3. State potential challenges to co-creation efforts within a historic campus context and discuss methods to mitigate or alleviate these challenges.
4. Identify design solutions that honor history, indigeneity, inclusion, sustainability, and student success goals.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI); Facilities Design; Student Engagement; Student Housing

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3419)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Live Your Strategic Plan: A Framework for Facilitating Campus Engagement

Room San Carlos 1&2 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Jessica Murfin, Partnerships & Strategic Initiatives Specialist, Western Oregon University | Judith Sylva, Associate Provost for Academic Effectiveness, Western Oregon University

Traditional strategic planning can lead to a static plan that does little to inspire implementation or true change. This session will detail a process that promotes buy-in and engagement while providing structured frameworks to support implementation and assessment. Our framework provides support for a campus community to ‘live’ its institutional strategic plan through the strategic planning cycle (SPC) at the unit level, informing the realization of institutional goals and outcomes. We’ll provide our tools and approaches for you to access and review, as well as the rationale for developing support for your own campus communities to ‘live’ their strategic plan.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Outline the SPC framework from planning to implementation to assessment to your unit.
2. Detail a collaborative process to engage stakeholders while increasing buy-in to ‘live’ a strategic plan.
3. Support campus community members to develop a meaningful, actionable strategic plan for their unit.
4. Explain the SPC framework rationale for facilitating teams to develop a strategic plan as well as align, implement, assess, improve, and evaluate the impact of the plan.

Planning Types: Strategic Planning
Challenges: Engaging Stakeholders; Planning Alignment
Tags: Continuous Improvement; Engaging Stakeholders; Implementation; Institutional Planning; Measuring the Plan; Unit Planning

Rooted Resilience: CSUMB Expands Student Offerings Through Regional Connections

Room 10th Floor Ferrante’s | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Tom Horvath, Interim Dean, College of Science, California State University-Monterey Bay | James Lindholm, Professor, Marine Science, California State University-Monterey Bay | Tim Morshead, Partner, WRNS Studio | Lisa Wooninck, Superintendent, Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary

California State University, Monterey Bay (CSUMB) has modeled social, environmental, and economic resilience planning by forging creative partnerships, expanding student offerings, and cultivating multi-source funding. We’ll demonstrate how CSUMB leverages local resources—such as the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary—to offer world-class opportunities to students who wouldn’t typically have access. Join us to gain actionable strategies for creating student-centered, locally-relevant learning environments that support the regional ecosystem, attract industry partnerships, drive local innovation, and boost academic and career outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Find opportunities to foster diverse partnerships (e.g., federal agencies, agribusinesses, and complementary research institutes) to provide students with hands-on learning experiences.
2. Discuss how flexible learning environment designs can support new programs and foster interdisciplinary collaboration, resulting in diverse learning opportunities and career pathways.
3. Detail strategies for securing diverse funding streams, from local donations and state support to federal partnerships, which maximize financial resources to support new programs, facilities, and research initiatives.
4. Discuss how to successfully root campus planning within regional economic and environmental contexts, creating programs and spaces that drive local innovation while addressing global challenges.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Experiential Learning; External Collaboration / Partnerships; Facilities Planning; Funding; Student Engagement; Student Experience; Student Learning Outcomes; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3460)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Monterey Conference Center

Thank you to our sponsor!

Holistic Methods and Research for Creating Campus Environments of Belonging

Room 10th Floor Ferrante’s | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Lou Gill, Senior Director of Undergraduate Housing and Residential Life, University of California-Irvine | Elizabeth MacPherson Hearn, Partner, Mithun | Erin Ishizaki, Partner, Mithun | Juliet Sinisterra, CEO, University District Development Association

Students and campus staff face increasing isolation and mental health challenges. To plan and design meaningful spaces of belonging, we must ask the right questions, use specific observation methods, and apply relevant research. We’ll share an update on the current state of mental health and wellbeing, institutional perspectives, challenges to student success, and methods for applying human-centered research in the creation of campus spaces for community and engagement. Join us for practical tools that will help you plan, program, and design learning environments that address today’s pressing challenges with mental health and social connection.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Add a new lens to your project design review that will aid your ability to support social connections, engagement, and resilience outcomes in campus spaces.
2. Evaluate spaces for their ability to support social connections through human-centered analytics, observational surveys and engagement, as well as for human behavior, design, and maintenance factors.
3. Identify opportunities to leverage human-centered analytics methods and data in the planning and programming of campus environments to support social connection, wellbeing, and resilience outcomes.
4. Discuss how a cross-departmental change management approach can center social connections and wellbeing through coordination of activities across real estate, planning, and facilities management.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design; Health and Wellness; Student Engagement; Student Experience

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3484)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Is Mass Timber Right for Your Campus?

Room San Carlos 3 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Masume Dana, Principal, Forell/Elsesser Engineers, Inc. | Claire Maxfield, Director, Atelier Ten | Robert Smith, Principal, LMN Architects | Valerie Zylla, Project Manager, University of California-Berkeley

Despite growing interest among campuses in mass timber construction, there is a sea of conflicting information about the potential benefits and downsides of building with wood. For the first time, University of California (UC), Berkeley is using mass timber to construct a new undergraduate academic building. This session will explore the process for determining whether this project was a cost-effective strategy for achieving carbon reduction and resilience. Decision making has become incredibly nuanced, and while the understanding of global carbon emissions continues to evolve, we’ll share the key opportunities a project team must consider in regards mass timber on campus.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify embodied carbon drivers and reduction strategies for various types of academic buildings.
2. Evaluate the suitability of building with mass timber in California, especially in close proximity to the Hayward Fault.
3. Integrate whole building life cycle assessment early into a project to achieve the greatest reduction in carbon emissions and select the most appropriate building methodology.
4. Prioritize developing strategies for evaluating mass timber early in the project using structural optimization and whole-building cost analysis.

Planning Types: Sustainability Planning
Challenges: Dealing with Climate Change
Tags: Facilities Funding; Facilities Planning; Resiliency; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3335)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Leveraging New Campus Development for Community Empowerment

Room San Carlos 4 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Pedro Avila, Superintendent/President, Gavilan College | Katie Brewer, Project Manager, | Erin Cubbison, Strategy Director, Research Institute Fellow, Gensler | Sandy Mendler, Principal, Gensler

Affordable and accessible higher education is key to upward mobility and community transformation, especially for many rural and remote suburban communities that have limited access to resources. In this session, we’ll explore the potential synergies between existing community colleges and their satellite locations. How can institutions drive community-engaged development in places that really need it? Is it better to build on existing assets or to build new? Discover how a community charted its own path toward a new college campus by organizing, passing a bond, and ultimately developing a tech-enabled, high flex learning environment with community space.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the key features of emerging academic satellite campuses that leverage their relationship with a core campus.
2. Compare community and economic development benefits of campus growth on existing core campuses versus satellite campus locations.
3. Outline a structure for engagement with diverse participants that you can later incorporate into an actionable campus master plan for core and satellite campus locations.
4. Evaluate strategies for connecting design vision to community vision for successful design execution.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Student Success, Retention, and Graduation
Tags: Community College; Economic Development; Master Plan; New Campus; Student Engagement; Student Success

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3505)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Spaces of Contrast: Revitalizing Downtown Mesa with ASU’s MIX Center

Presented by: Michael Henderson, Architect | Associate, Bohlin Cywinski Jackson | Dave Jack, Project Manager, Arizona State University | Diane Jacobs, Principal, Holly Street Studio Architects

Arizona State University’s (ASU) Media and Immersive eXperience (MIX) Center, a hub for film, media arts, and emerging technology, has sparked renewed creativity and momentum in downtown Mesa through unique partnerships and a contrast of public and academic programs. The planning, execution, and success of the ASU MIX Center illustrates new approaches to urban activation, highlighting strategies for achieving public buy-in, renewed investment, and mutual growth. In this session, we’ll share insights into the planning, implementation, and outcomes of ASU and Mesa’s significant partnership, which sets a precedent for future collaborations between public institutions seeking to balance complex priorities.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Describe the process of aligning strategic goals of institutions and urban communities seeking cultural and economic revitalization and growth.
2. Analyze public engagement strategies that you can apply during project planning to create compelling community-facing environments within unique and contrasting academic contexts.
3. Identify the environments, programming, and activations that encourage student engagement, interaction, and a sense of belonging at an urban satellite campus facility.
4. Discuss new strategies for maintaining long-term town-gown partnerships that balance sustainable institutional growth with measurable community revitalization efforts.

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3388)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

An Integrated and Equitable Approach to Campus Decarbonization

Room San Carlos 4 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Maya Ades, Student, University of Washington-Seattle Campus | Jordan Sager, Associate Director- Energy and Engineering, UCSB Design, Facilities, University of California-Santa Barbara | Sonam Shah, Associate, Introba

This session will demonstrate how to adapt a large existing campus to decarbonized central systems, including cost considerations, performance evaluation, resilience concerns, and equity factors. To achieve the University of California, Santa Barbara’s (UCSB) climate goals, we developed a clean energy master plan that goes beyond a conventional utility plan to prioritize equity and environmental justice to sustain campus ecosystems and ensure student wellbeing. Implementing decarbonization plans can be disruptive, but we’ll share how you can achieve successful buy-in and engagement, including uplifting students as interns on the project team and key contributors in the process.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Evaluate a data-informed decarbonization journey, starting with a phased electrification plan that addresses evaluation metrics such as lifecycle costs, energy, carbon emissions, student wellbeing, and energy resilience.
2. Identify decarbonization opportunities specific to your campus that you can leverage for energy optimization, carbon emissions, cost reduction, wellbeing, and climate resiliency.
3. Apply tools for stakeholder engagement throughout planning and delivery of campus electrification for continuous alignment and buy-in that results in a healthier campus.
4. Discuss how to create learning, research, and fundraising opportunities through campus and all-electric thermal plant-based living labs.

Planning Types: Sustainability Planning
Challenges: Dealing with Climate Change
Tags: Carbon Neutral; Energy Efficiency and Conservation; Energy Infrastructure; Resiliency; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3333)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Promoting Student Wellbeing Through Campus Nature Connection

Room 10th Floor Ferrante’s | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Jeremy Bekker, Mr., California State University-Monterey Bay | Jenny Duggan, Associate Professor, California State University-Monterey Bay | Destiny-Ciara Yano, Associated Students Sustainability Senator, California State University-Monterey Bay

Nature connection can play an important role in enhancing student mental health. At a time when students need help adapting to life stressors, nature connection can provide opportunities for social connection, attention restoration, and belonging. This interactive session will explore methods for identifying and sharing underused campus nature spaces to improve wellbeing by prioritizing health and belonging for the campus community. Join us to explore a replicable model for enhancing students’ access to nature on campus with strategies for maximizing nature spaces without the need for new infrastructure.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Construct an interactive map highlighting natural and biophilic-designed locations on your campus.
2. Identify opportunities to improve student wellbeing and belonging through nature connection on your campus.
3. Outline the benefits of animal ambassadors for promoting community engagement and belonging within the campus environment.
4. Following synthesis of ideas, promote underused nature spaces on campus to improve wellbeing for the campus community.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design; Facilities Planning; Health and Wellness; Landscape / Open Space; Student Engagement; Student Experience

AIA LU/HSW 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3495)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Riding Out Waves of Uncertainty: Buoyant Campus Planning at WWU

Room San Carlos 1&2 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Brodie Bain, Principal, NAC Architecture | Korin Nabozny, Associate, NAC Architecture | Forest Payne, Project Manager / University Planner, Western Washington University | Lara Rose, Principal, Walker Macy

With many unknowns in future public funding, demographics, climate, and higher education overall, universities must plan for a range of long-term outcomes while identifying clear first steps for near-term needs. Like many institutions, Western Washington University (WWU) has seen historic fluctuations in funding and enrollment. The new WWU campus plan paves a path for multiple futures while focusing on student recruitment, retention, and belonging, no matter what the future holds. Come learn how you can develop both holistic and detailed strategies for supporting students, recognizing improvements, and remaining flexible for future unknowns.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Detail strategies to identify and then advance solutions around belonging, retention, recruitment, and vitality with a focus on the student experience, wellbeing, and success.
2. Discuss ways to facilitate comprehensive, equitable campus engagement that includes ways to truly understand the experiences of historically underrepresented students.
3. Explain how to build a flexible campus plan that supports many different futures.
4. Advocate for affordable near and long-term campus improvements that strengthen culture, interaction, vitality, and equity.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Funding Uncertainty; Student Success, Retention, and Graduation
Tags: Capital Planning; Facilities Funding; Student Retention; Student Success; Underserved Students

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3389)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

Transformation on a Budget: Cal Poly’s Kennedy Library Renovation

Room San Carlos 3 | Monterey Marriott

Presented by: Carla Brown, Senior Project Manager, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | Danielle Buttacavoli, Principal, The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP | Adriana Popescu, Dean of Library Services, California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo | Tamara Strickland, Design-Builder, Hensel Phelps Construction Co.

Despite challenges, renovations of older campus buildings are necessary to create safer, healthier, more inclusive environments; they also present an opportunity to mitigate the embodied carbon of new construction. This panel will review a concrete brutalist library adaptation at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly). This transformation reduces energy on a limited budget while uplifting the student experience by providing equitable access to services, thermal comfort, and study space. We’ll offer candid and enduring strategies for transforming existing assets with a fixed budget, including methodologies for integrating student feedback, concise analyses for balancing competing interests, and supporting data-informed decisions.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Detail a design framework that relates to student input and allows for flexibility as future programs evolve over time.
2. Explain how to develop an inclusive and collaborative stakeholder planning process that results in comprehensive, interdisciplinary analyses and data-informed recommendations.
3. Outline methodologies for prioritize and balance competing needs such as infrastructure upgrades, safety and accessibility improvements, aesthetic refresh, and stakeholder requests for enduring project funding and support priorities.
4. Find opportunities on your campus to implement innovative strategies that keep the campus engaged while maintaining campus services and operations for programs during construction.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Challenges: Competing Priorities
Tags: Adaptive Reuse; Renovation; Revitalization; Sustainability (Environmental)

AIA LU 1.0 Unit (SCUPP25C3492)
AICP CM 1.0 Unit

The Strength of Us: Resilience in Community

Monterey Conference Center

Presented by: Tyller Williamson, Mayor of Monterey, The City of Monterey