Mid-Atlantic 2026 Regional Conference

A Place to Flourish: Measuring Campus Affordances for Student Well-being

Presented by: Kim Elliott, Senior Education Planner, HDR, Inc. | Francesqca Jimenez, Researcher, HDR, Inc. | Lisa Phillips, Associate Director of Interior Design, Thomas Jefferson University | Jenna Rieder, Assistant Professor in Psychology, Thomas Jefferson University

Student well-being is central to a university’s mission. Understanding how campus spaces support or hinder well-being helps institutions design environments that foster belonging, healthy behaviors, and student thriving. This session shares findings from research examining how students perceive campus spaces and environmental qualities that support their holistic well-being. Using a mixed-methods approach, researchers assessed the campus built environment’s affordance for well-being outcomes such as sense of belonging, health-promoting behaviors, and flourishing. We will highlight insights from focus groups and survey data, discuss implications for campus design, and invite you to reflect on how your campus environments might better support student well-being.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Apply a mixed-methods approach to explore student well-being in relation to campus spaces.
2. Identify how students prioritize campus spaces and the design qualities they associate with well-being and flourishing.
3. Analyze how the campus built environment can better support student well-being.
4. Identify opportunities for enhancing your campus’s built environment in support of student well-being.

Topics: Facilities Planning
Tags: Facilities Design; Health and Wellness; Original Research

Breaking Down Silos: Foundation-College Alignment Through Integrated Planning

Presented by: Amanda Sbriscia, Vice President of Institutional Advancement, Holyoke Community College

Higher education foundations often operate in silos, disconnected from institutional strategic priorities. At Holyoke Community College (HCC), we transformed this dynamic through integrated planning that aligned the HCC Foundation Board of Director’s work with the college’s strategic plan. This session shares our practical approach to breaking down silos through the ‘leadership quartet’ model, stakeholder engagement, and collaborative planning. Our efforts produced tangible results: increased fundraising staffing aligned with institutional metrics, a first-ever Scholarship Resource Center, enhanced board knowledge and engagement, and comprehensive policy development. You will explore how we established mission, vision, and guiding principles, and created sustainable alignment as the college launches Strategic Plan 3.0 process.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Establish a ‘leadership quartet’ that brings together foundation board leadership, the college president, and advancement staff to meet quarterly and align strategic priorities.
2. Develop mission, vision, and guiding principles for a foundation that explicitly connect to and support institutional strategic plan goals and create visible commitment tools (like meeting placemats).
3. Create ad hoc board committees focused on strategic planning that provide regular updates to standing committees, ensuring foundation work directly addresses institutional priorities like enrollment, student support, and financial sustainability.
4. Build a policy framework for spending, governance, and public information that enables rather than constrains collaborative planning between foundation and institution.

Topics: Strategic Planning
Tags: Advancement Planning; Alignment; Community College; Mission / Vision / Identity

Busting the Bunkers: Reclaiming our Poorest-performing Brutalist Buildings

Presented by: Laurie Badzek, Dean, Pennsylvania State University | John Cearley, Senior Associate Project Architect, The S/L/A/M Collaborative | James Templeton, Assistant Vice President and University Architect, Temple University | Luis Vildostegui, Principal | Education Practice Leader, The S/L/A/M Collaborative

Every campus has at least one. Consistently controversial, Brutalist buildings often prove ill-suited for today’s pedagogies, performance demands, and highly socialized learning environments. Concerns for sustainability, carbon consciousness, and mounting economic pressures encourage us to consider the intelligent revitalization and reuse of these daunting structures. Learn how two Pennsylvania universities developed distinct approaches for reclaiming their legacy ‘bunkers.’ We’ll detail how they leveraged the benchmarking and metrics from their respective planning processes to evaluate unforeseen conditions while still achieving their academic goals and sustainability outcomes.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Use knowledge of the key architectural and construction methods underpinning mid-century Brutalist buildings to assess their strengths and weaknesses in order to make informed decisions in preservation, renovation, or adaptive reuse projects.
2. Explore creative ways to accommodate the project vision (from a programming and planning perspective) while working within the constraints of the Brutalist building type.
3. Identify a strategy that incorporates the flexibility required to transform a Brutalist ‘bunker’ into a modern, community-friendly, light-filled space aligned with today’s contemporary facilities.
4. Assess an underutilized building to evaluate the benefits of renovating or repurposing it, and to determine if the current structure can be adapted in a way that benefits both the campus and its programs.

Topics: Renovation
Tags: Adaptive Reuse; Renovation

Creating and Building New Jersey’s First School of Veterinary Medicine

Presented by: Katy Brown, Principal, Erdy McHenry Architecture, LLC | Matthew Edson, Founding Dean of the Shreiber School of Veterinary Medicine of Rowan University, Rowan University | Barbara Jones, Principal, One Health Consulting | David McHenry, Principal, Erdy McHenry Architecture, LLC

Establishing New Jersey’s first school of veterinary medicine required the simultaneous creation of a new academic discipline and medical school and a new physical presence on campus; both were achieved within an ambitious five-year timeline. This session highlights how integrated planning aligned institutional strategy, academic programming, and accreditation with facility design, construction, and biosecurity, enabling the rapid development of a school from the ground up. You will learn how to navigate complex stakeholder coordination, anticipate infrastructure challenges unique to new disciplines, and manage accelerated timelines where the physical and academic must evolve in lockstep.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Initiate cross-functional planning teams early to align academic, facilities, and regulatory needs for new program or school development.
2. Develop realistic yet aggressive project timelines that coordinate academic milestones with design, construction, and accreditation processes.
3. Apply integrated planning methods to manage simultaneous academic and physical development, minimizing delays and misalignment.
4. Anticipate and address infrastructure and compliance needs unique to specialized disciplines like veterinary medicine, healthcare, or research-intensive programs.

Topics: Academic Facilities
Tags: Facilities Planning; New Program or Department; Science / Engineering Facility

The Ultimate Integrated Planning Experience: University Mergers

Presented by: Christina Sax, Chief Executive Officer, Maryland University of Integrative Health

Integrated planning plays a central role in the complex process of a university merger. In this session, the former chief executive officer of Maryland University of Integrative Health (MUIH) will share firsthand experiences of guiding the merger of MUIH into Notre Dame of Maryland University. The process required purposeful alignment of strategy, academics, operations, facilities, resources, and culture under a unified vision. Cross-functional collaborative engagement, ongoing adaptive planning, transparent communication, and data-informed decision-making led to sustainable change management, anticipated outcomes, unexpected benefits, and turned challenges into opportunities. This session highlights insights and practical lessons to strengthen integrated planning and resilience during major organizational change.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify the potential challenges and opportunities in planning and executing potential inter-institutional collaborations.
2. Develop a collaborative integrated planning approach to guide an inter-institutional collaboration.
3. Develop a robust, ongoing, and transparent communications framework that engages stakeholders in the planning and implementation of an inter-institutional collaboration.
4. Develop an assessment plan to evaluate the planning and implementation of an inter-institutional collaboration.

Topics: Strategic Planning
Tags: Alignment; Mission / Vision / Identity; Organizational Change

Balancing Choice and Equity: Redefining Campus Dining for Food Security

Presented by: Seth Weinshel, Associate Vice President, Business Services, George Washington University | Jason Wilcoxon, Principal, Ayers Saint Gross

Food insecurity remains a pressing challenge at urban universities where students face high living costs. At The George Washington University (GWU), a shift from retail dining to an all-you-care-to-eat model sought to improve food equity while maintaining choice. This session explores the design, operational, and social impacts of that transition through case studies and discussion. You will examine strategies for balancing autonomy and access, assess dining models within your institution, and identify ways to adapt facilities and policies for inclusivity. Interactive dialogue will encourage you to share insights and develop actionable approaches to equitable, student-centered dining.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Analyze how dining program models?particularly, retail vs. all-you-care-to-eat?impact food equity, student choice, and financial sustainability.
2. Identify planning and design strategies that enhance access while optimizing facility operations and space use.
3. Identify ways to adapt dining facilities and policies to be more equitable and promote student food security.
4. Engage diverse stakeholders in dialogue to align dining strategies and design with institutional mission, community needs, and student well-being goals.

Topics: Student Life Facilities
Tags: Dining Facility; Student Services

Found Space: A Business School Creatively Transforms Curriculum in Its New Home

Presented by: Sadie Gregory, Dean of the College of Business, Coppin State University | Steve Schwenk, Associate Principal, Quinn Evans | Todd Symonds, Principal, Goody Clancy

In this era of constrained resources, facilities projects must do more than meet current program goals. Designed with the flexibility to support an evolving academic future, the newly renovated Coppin State University College of Business has become a catalyst for the urban HBCU to rethink its curriculum, strengthen community partnerships, and grow enrollment. This session explores how ‘found space’ can be creatively reused?first, by design teams through renovations , and then by academic departments after moving in. We will share space repurposing strategies that can be achieved not only through capital renovations, but also through operational and instructional experimentation.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Leverage modest resources to transform an existing building into a campus asset.
2. Develop flexible and resilient programming that maintains the future relevancy of a capital project.
3. Advocate for experimental academic and instructional responses to new spaces after move-in.
4. Utilize fundraising and instructional models rooted in building business and community partnerships to increase enrollment.

Topics: Academic Facilities; Renovation
Tags: Business School Facility; Historically Black College or University (HBCU); Renovation

From City to Forest: How Planning Revealed Lehigh’s Superpower

Presented by: Rayna Erlich, Principal, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP | Neil Kittredge, Partner & Director, Urban Design & Planning, Beyer Blinder Belle Architects & Planners LLP | Nancy Trainer, AVP Facilities + University Architect, Drexel University

Campuses must meet rapidly changing needs within the constraints of existing buildings and grounds. Within these constraints, creative, integrated campus-wide planning can have a multiplier effect, creating synergies and options to provide resilient solutions. Lehigh University’s novel, highly participatory approach to campus planning revealed differentiators (or ‘superpowers’) and re-imagined diverse existing resources, creating innovative places for interdisciplinary research, student success, and community partnership. This session will provide strategies for identifying the highest and best use of existing campus resources, uncovering underappreciated assets to meet strategic goals, building durable support across stakeholders, and finding synergies across different capital project needs.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Optimize existing campus buildings and grounds for greater impact by rethinking their highest and best uses within a comprehensive framework.
2. Develop an integrated framework of options to guide short- and long-term decision making about capital projects while also allowing for flexibility to adapt to changing circumstances.
3. Implement innovative practices for campus redevelopment, adaptive reuse, and renovation of outmoded buildings that support the institution’s mission and strategic goals.
4. Build consensus for change amongst stakeholders through interactive methods that inspire cooperation, inform perspectives, and allow participants to have their voices heard and incorporated into the recommendations.

Topics: Campus, Landscape, Infrastructure
Tags: Campus Master Planning; Capital Planning

The Helix Remix: Bringing Education, Research, and Industry Together at Rutgers

Presented by: Laura Berman, Assistant University Architect, Rutgers University | David Manfredi, CEO & Founding Principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects | Christopher Paladino, President, New Brunswick Development Corp. | Dave Schulz, Vice President and University Architect, Rutgers University

Today’s challenges demand greater collaboration between medical education, research, and industry. Rutgers University is achieving that by placing learning, research, and technology transfer together in a single mixed-use building. This session explores the development of the first building at the HELIX, an innovation district marking a new paradigm for urban campus revitalization at Rutgers. The future home of Rutgers’s medical school, this building is designed to break down the silos between clinicians, researchers, and corporate partners, creating a new precedent for efficiency, proximity, and discovery. Learn about the planning and design of this building, including challenges and opportunities encountered in edge-of-campus, mixed-use projects.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Implement cross-disciplinary programs for scientific education and translational research.
2. Examine possible synergies of co-locating academic programs and private industry partners.
3. Advise stakeholders about the benefits and costs of urban high-rise facilities.
4. Analyze how existing educational and research program space can accelerate the pace of discovery.

Topics: Academic Facilities
Tags: Innovation Center; Medical / Allied Health Facility; Mixed-Use

Integrating Academic Vision & Facilities Planning for Community College Success

Presented by: Katy Angstadt, Senior Director, Capital Projects, The Community College of Baltimore County | Kushan Dave, Vice President, CannonDesign | Ashwin Dharmadhikari, Senior Associate, CannonDesign | Melissa Hopp, Vice President of Administrative Services, The Community College of Baltimore County

Across the nation, community colleges are rethinking how to connect academic mission, workforce alignment, and physical planning. At Community College of Baltimore County (CCBC), academic and facilities planning converged to form a unified roadmap for the future. Facing enrollment plateaus, aging infrastructure, and financial constraints, CCBC began its master planning process with an academic foresight study that prioritized flexible pathways, tech-enabled access, and workforce partnerships. These insights shaped the facilities plan, informing decisions around optimizing space, modernizing infrastructure, and targeting capital to impact learning and belonging. This session shares the practical framework that linked mission, programs, and facilities into one cohesive strategy.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Develop a phased integrated planning process that links academic and facilities priorities for long-term institutional alignment.
2. Translate academic foresight findings into physical space and capital investment strategies that respond to enrollment and workforce trends.
3. Apply right-sizing and space optimization methods that balance student access, belonging, and financial sustainability.
4. Implement collaborative engagement techniques to bridge academic, facilities, and operational divisions across your institution.

Topics: Facilities Planning
Tags: Alignment; Campus Master Planning; Community College; Facilities Planning

Princeton University: Embedding Wellness Into Major Facilities Projects

Presented by: Kayleen Kulesza, Senior Associate, WRNS Studio | Ron McCoy, University Architect, Princeton University | Mark Sanderson, Principal, DIGSAU | Ted Watson, Partner, MJMA

Student health challenges are well documented. Embedding wellness into major campus facilities signals a cultural shift: student well-being is not peripheral, but central to learning, growth, and a sense of belonging. Two new projects at Princeton University?the Frist Health Center and the Class of 1986 Fitness and Wellness Center?address student health challenges such as anxiety, burnout, and isolation. Learn how the built environment can support a campus culture of wellness. You will leave with strategies for advancing wellness through collaboration and shared vision, adaptive reuse and the innovative use of mass timber, and sustainable design.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Build a collaborative project team, engaging diverse stakeholders and aligning institutional values with wellness-centered planning through a charter that outlines accountability for cost, schedule, and project objectives.
2. Pursue adaptive reuse and mass timber to cut carbon, preserve heritage, and introduce materials that foster warmth, connection, and biophilia.
3. Integrate sustainability and wellness by embedding environmental performance strategies that also enhance student health and well-being.
4. Reinforce campus heritage and identity by weaving architecture and landscape together to create inclusive, accessible spaces that extend a culture of care.

Topics: Student Life Facilities
Tags: Adaptive Reuse; Health and Wellness; Medical / Allied Health Facility; Recreational Facility

Purpose. Place. Planning: UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce Expansion

Presented by: Lori Garrett, President, Glave & Holmes Architecture | Bryan Lewis, Assistant Dean for Operations / CIO, University of Virginia-Main Campus | Alice Raucher, Architect for the University, University of Virginia-Main Campus | Jennifer Stone, Partner, Robert A.M. Stern Architects

University of Virginia’s (UVA) McIntire School of Commerce Complex project shows how integrated planning supports long-term success by prioritizing mission, quality, and innovation despite leadership changes, site constraints, and evolving technologies. This 10-year expansion transformed a key academic precinct, balancing historic preservation with tech-forward design while adapting to evolving teaching and facility needs. We’ll explore the collaborative process that aligned academic vision, curricular innovation, and historic preservation. You will learn strategies for leading complex, long-term planning efforts by balancing tradition and innovation, managing stakeholder shifts, repurposing facilities, and aligning design and infrastructure decisions with academic goals.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Use integrated planning and change management strategies to build consensus around evolving program needs and site constraints.
2. Advocate for tech-integrated learning spaces that support evolving pedagogy.
3. Reconcile modern needs with historic preservation aspirations during a building renovation.
4. Collaborate across roles to align campus placemaking with academic vision through thoughtful programming, landscape, and building design.

Topics: Academic Facilities; Renovation
Tags: Business School Facility; Historic Preservation; Renovation

The Power of Process: Strategic Planning for Cultural Transformation

Presented by: Ashlee Roberts, Executive Director of Student Affairs Strategic Planning and Initiatives, Stockton University | Nicole Suprun, Associate Director of Planning, Stockton University

Stockton University’s strategic planning process was designed to reset the culture and build a shared vision for the future. Where confidence in institutional decision-making was fractured, the process became a catalyst for openness and collaboration. More than 325 faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members served on committees and working groups. Through participatory planning, transparent communication, and inclusive engagement, the process aligned academics, student success, finance, facilities, and community partnerships. We will share strategies for balancing priorities, fostering authentic stakeholder input, and building consensus. You will gain practical approaches to guide collective planning and strengthen alignment on your campus.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Assess campus climate to determine the most effective planning approach.
2. Design communication and feedback structures that foster transparency and engagement throughout the planning process.
3. Build cross-functional planning teams that promote collaboration and reduce siloed decision-making.
4. Facilitate dialogue through multiple feedback modalities at key planning stages to engage diverse voices and move groups toward consensus.

Topics: Strategic Planning
Tags: Communication; Consensus Building; Organizational Culture

How to Do Strategy: Lessons from Rutgers and New Research

Presented by: Brian Ballentine, Senior Vice President, Strategy, Rutgers University-New Brunswick | Aimee Hosemann, Director of Qualitative Research, RHB | Rob Zinkan, Vice President for Marketing Leadership, RHB

Amid rapid change, the need for clear, actionable strategy has never been greater. Using findings from our 2021-2025 studies of higher education strategic planning, this session explores both national trends and the model used by Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, for integrating strategic choice-making across the institution. We’ll offer lessons from Rutgers and research-based insights from across higher ed to help you plan with confidence and make data-informed decisions about whether to adapt as conditions change. You’ll leave with evidence and examples of emerging models that make strategy more continuous, human-centered, and effective.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Collaborate with colleagues to design foundational models and language for a strategic plan (e.g., strategy, framework, direction, compass).
2. Develop frameworks for discerning whether individual goals or priorities need to be static over the life of the plan, or whether there is room to adapt.
3. Incorporate human-centered goals, priorities, and accountability structures into plans.
4. Design effective stakeholder engagement strategies that rely on purposeful collaboration with campus partners.

Topics: Strategic Planning
Tags: Original Research; Planning Processes

Learning by Doing: Designing for Multi-Modal Learning

Presented by: Eddie Guerra, Associate Dean, Strategic Sustainability, Rowan University | Sebastian Jaramillo, Director, Tangen Hall, University of Pennsylvania | Kim Kopple, Director of Planning, Design and Construction, University of Pennsylvania | Petar Mattioni, Partner, KSS Architects LLP

Research shows students learn more effectively when instruction engages multiple modalities. Explore three projects designed to facilitate multi-modal learning, helping institutions to fully engage students, strengthen retention, and foster collaboration. University of Pennsylvania’s (UPenn) Tangen Hall cultivates entrepreneurship through cross-school integration, UPenn’s Gail P. Riepe Center for Advanced Veterinary Education immerses veterinary students on a working farm, and Rowan University’s Discovery Hall advances STEM through multidisciplinary programming. You will leave with strategies to plan and design learning environments that connect students to practice, enhance multi-modal engagement, and adapt to institutional contexts.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify partnership opportunities that connect academic, industry, and community stakeholders to expand educational access and impact.
2. Use stakeholder feedback to inform planning and design decision strategies, ensuring design choices support multi-modal learning.
3. Design flexible spaces and programs that bridge departmental silos, foster inclusion, and support experiential, multi-modal learning.
4. Implement adaptable, inclusive environments that prepare students for real-world success through experiential learning.

Topics: Academic Facilities
Tags: Experiential Learning; Learning Environments

Small Projects, Big Impact: Modest Interventions into Outsized Transformation

Presented by: Alan Greenberger, VP Real Estate & Facilities, Drexel University | Eric Oskey, Partner, Technical Director, Moto Designshop | J. Douglas Wenger, Project Manager, Pennsylvania State University

Across higher education, large capital projects are often delayed or canceled due to financial uncertainty. Institutions are rethinking scale, turning to renovation, adaptive reuse, and small interventions to address deferred maintenance and enhance the student experience. Using examples from Drexel University and the Pennsylvania State University, this session will discuss how small projects guided by integrated planning and thoughtful design can unlock campus potential, strengthen identity, and advance institutional goals. You will learn how collaboration across planning, design, and facilities transforms constraints into opportunities and ensures even modest interventions deliver lasting impact.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify small-scale capital projects that align with institutional mission and strategic priorities.
2. Frame modest capital projects as catalysts for reaching larger goals in order to gain institutional and stakeholder support.
3. Develop integrated planning and design strategies that maximize limited project budgets while producing visible change.
4. Communicate the long-term value and impact of small capital projects to leadership and campus partners, emphasizing how thoughtful design reinforces planning aspirations.

Topics: Renovation
Tags: Adaptive Reuse; Capital Planning; Deferred Maintenance; Facilities Planning; Renovation

Bridging Eras: Reimagining a Century-Old School as a 21st Century Academic Hub

Presented by: Coretta Bennett, Director of Operations, Johns Hopkins University | Paul Lund, Principal, Hord Coplan Macht, Inc. (HCM)

As universities are faced with decreased funding they are working to increase their space utilization, tackle deferred maintenance, and boost the effectiveness of each building. This session will describe how Johns Hopkins University (JHU) transformed a historic high school building on the edge of campus into a space that supports JHU’s Ten for One strategic plan. We will described how integrated planning helped us increase the utilization of an underutilized buildings, make its spaces inclusive, and incorporate best practices for learning and work space design, transforming a 100-year-old building into a working, teaching, and community space.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Design an interactive stakeholder process to prioritize space allocation and mix.
2. Harness the unique qualities and underutilized spaces of an historic building.
3. Adapt your institution’s learning and workspace standards to an existing building.
4. Connect a disparate edge building to a main campus through intentional placemaking.

Topics: Academic Facilities; Renovation
Tags: Academic Facility; Adaptive Reuse; Renovation

Cultivating Institutional Strength Through Open Spaces at Temple University

Presented by: Gabriella Salvemini, Associate, DAVID RUBIN Land Collective | James Templeton, Assistant Vice President and University Architect, Temple University

As institutions age, they must evolve with their students and find more ways to articulate campus identity and encourage connection. Third spaces can cultivate belonging among all campus users: students, faculty, staff, and the public. Examining landscape as a connective tissue, this session considers how public spaces reinforce student and institutional identity. Using the revitalization of Liacouras Walk South at Temple University as a case study, we will discuss how we explored dynamic solutions to activate the campus and promote university culture through changing times. You will gain concrete action items to encourage connection and improve accessibility on your campus.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Analyze your campus and look for places to cultivate belonging through accessible community spaces.
2. Diversify outdoor gathering spaces to encourage use throughout a school day and the calendar year, making the spaces more accessible to the local community.
3. Create a plan to reinforce campus identity through previously unconsidered spaces and wayfinding.
4. Activate pathways and transition spaces to help create cultural connections that facilitate gathering and conversation.

Topics: Campus, Landscape, Infrastructure
Tags: Landscape / Open Space; Placemaking; Revitalization

On the Road to Electrification: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Presented by: Carlos Cerezo Davila, Director of Sustainability, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates | Nico Kienzl, Director, Atelier Ten

Institutions increasingly face financial and regulatory pressures around new development and infrastructure. This session explores four case studies of scalable electrification strategies, from single buildings to campus-wide integration. Each case highlights how institutions balance constraints and opportunities to decarbonize and future-proof their campuses. You will gain actionable insights into identifying investment areas, prioritizing electrification opportunities, developing strategic roadmaps, and applying data-driven analysis to reduce operational carbon. You will leave with a flexible framework to guide resilient, all-electric campus transitions through financial, regulatory, and operational pressure.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify project areas ready for decarbonization intervention and investment.
2. Evaluate and prioritize electrification project opportunities with an eye to future decarbonization projects.
3. Reorganize a project design timeline to prioritize opportunities to extend electrification beyond a single building.
4. Integrate data-driven analysis into your carbon reduction planning.

Topics: Campus, Landscape, Infrastructure
Tags: Carbon Neutral; Energy Infrastructure; Sustainability (Environmental)

POE or People-Outcomes-Experience: Develop Meaningful, Inclusive Evaluations

Presented by: Lauren Bailey, Facilities Management, Planning and Design Project Manager, Virginia Commonwealth University | Shannon Dowling, Principal, Learning Environments Strategy + Design, Ayers Saint Gross

Post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) too often measure satisfaction instead of significance. This hands-on workshop invites you to co-create an inclusive, evidence-based POE toolkit from the ground up. Together, we’ll identify what planning and design projects should truly support?comfort, safety, belonging, confidence, learning, and relationships?and connect those outcomes to design intent. Using research and shared resources, you will build metrics, map stakeholder roles, and outline an evaluation process that spans the full project lifecycle, from early goal setting to post-occupancy reflection. Everyone leaves with a collaboratively built library of metrics, readings, and methods for measuring meaning.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Identify inclusive, evidence-based, human-centered outcomes that design projects should achieve to enhance well-being, engagement, and equity for all.
2. Translate those outcomes into measurable goals and evidence-based metrics.
3. Map an evaluation process that spans the entire lifecycle of a project?from programming through post-occupancy reflections.
4. Build a collaborative POE toolkit to assess meaningful outcomes (such as belonging, comfort, and safety) and their impact on the student experience.

Topics: Facilities Planning
Tags: Post-Occupancy Evaluation