Learning Resources

Diving Into Data

Space Utilization Analysis Can Address Course Scheduling Challenges, Classroom Consolidation Issues, and Deferred Maintenance Priorities

By: Minta Ferguson, BArch, AIA, and Tom Savory, MArch, FAIA

Using data analytics and reviewing facility conditions helped Newberry College enhance space utilization and create a dynamic, adaptable campus.

From Volume 52 Number 2 | January–March 2024

Abstract: A proactive approach to master planning, rooted in empirical evidence and stakeholder input, can be emulated on campuses nationwide. The article’s authors show how a space analysis, if implemented correctly, can provide an institution’s decision-makers with the valuable data needed to create a dynamic and adaptable campus environment.

Institutions Mentioned: Newberry College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Campus Master Planning, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Space Assessment, Space Management

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

Planning and Implementing the Sustainable Campus of the Future

By: Nicole Holmes, Nitsch Engineering | Thomas Nyquist, Princeton University | Daniel O’Shaughnessy, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP | Natalie Shivers, Princeton University

Integrated planning and design that optimizes development capacity and leverages campus growth can help institutions achieve ambitious resilience goals for net-zero energy and resource conservation for a healthier, more sustainable environment. This session will discuss Princeton University’s ongoing efforts to support an ambitious capital plan, address deferred maintenance, advance climate solutions, and maximize use of campus lands. The path to a sustainable campus future will require institutions to go beyond business-as-usual planning to rethink campus infrastructure—particularly energy, stormwater, and landscapes—and activate high-performance sites and buildings.

Abstract: Integrated planning and design that optimizes development capacity and leverages campus growth can help institutions achieve ambitious resilience goals for net-zero energy and resource conservation for a healthier, more sustainable environment. This session will discuss Princeton University’s ongoing efforts to support an ambitious capital plan, address deferred maintenance, advance climate solutions, and maximize use of campus lands. The path to a sustainable campus future will require institutions to go beyond business-as-usual planning to rethink campus infrastructure—particularly energy, stormwater, and landscapes—and activate high-performance sites and buildings.

Planning Types: Campus Planning, Sustainability Planning
Tags: Capital Planning, Deferred Maintenance, Energy Efficiency and Conservation, Energy Infrastructure, Landscape / Open Space, Resiliency, Sustainability (Environmental), Zero Net Energy (ZNE)

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

Placemaking, Programming, and Plaza: An Innovative P3 Approach to Activation

By: Dan Biederman, Biederman Redevelopment Ventures | Brian Naumick, Edgemoor Infrastructure & Real Estate | Cathy Pinskey, George Mason University | Melissa Thierry, George Mason University

For colleges and universities to achieve their goals with extremely limited resources, they must rely on constructive partnerships. This session will focus on building those connections for placemaking on campus, which is a critical aspect of activating a successful innovation ecosystem.

Abstract: For colleges and universities to achieve their goals with extremely limited resources, they must rely on constructive partnerships. This session will focus on building those connections for placemaking on campus, which is a critical aspect of activating a successful innovation ecosystem. Activation does not simply happen because a plaza exists; rather, it requires organizational structure, programming, funding models, and partnership. This session will explore cross-disciplinary planning?internally within the institution and with external partners?as well as provide resources for creating a framework for public space activation.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Public-Private Partnerships (P3)

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Conference Presentations

Published
March 5, 2024

New School of Nursing: Innovative Educational Technologies Wrapped in Tradition

By: Debra Nauta-Rodriguez, The Catholic University of America | Nicole Ostrander, Ayers Saint Gross | Jennifer Stone, Robert A.M. Stern Architects | Thomas Striegel, The Catholic University of America

Many campuses face challenges integrating with their surrounding urban contexts. Gateway buildings along campus edges can reinvigorate campus-city connectivity while a contextual design can contribute to an institution’s sense of place.

Abstract: Many campuses face challenges integrating with their surrounding urban contexts. Gateway buildings along campus edges can reinvigorate campus-city connectivity while a contextual design can contribute to an institution’s sense of place. The Catholic University of America’s newly completed School of Nursing and gateway plaza serves as a threshold between the urban fabric and pastoral landscape with a collegiate gothic exterior and an educationally advanced, innovative interior. This session will illustrate a project case study that engages the surrounding urban context with sustainable, responsible design, combining a historically responsive exterior with technology-rich, contemporary interior spaces.

Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Facilities Design, Flexible Learning Spaces, Landscape / Open Space, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Learning Environments, Medical / Allied Health Facility

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Overcoming a $90M Budget Overage in Vanderbilt University’s Residential Colleges

A Multifaceted Team Worked Collaboratively to Stem Overruns

By: David Bailey, BA, AIA, LEED AP, and Walt Massey, BA

The University, architects, engineers, strategic planning consultants, and contractor teams worked hand in hand to peel back the onion to stem the overruns.

From Volume 52 Number 1 | October–December 2023

Abstract: When Vanderbilt University began seeing signs that cost escalation, scope additions, campus requirements, and authentic Collegiate Gothic architecture for their proposed new residence halls were all pressuring the budget, a multifaceted team worked collaboratively and arduously to stem the overruns.

Institutions Mentioned: Vanderbilt University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Academic Facility, Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Implementation, Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), Mixed-Use, Modifying the Plan, Project Management, Project Management / Delivery, Student Housing

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Analyzing Existing Campus Space for Hybrid Teaching and Learning

A Step-by-Step Process Helps Planners Reconceptualize Classrooms

By: Aiman Khamitova, EdD, Luis R. Rojas-Solórzano, PhD, and Ines Russinho Mouga, MSc

In the aftermath of COVID-19, Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan) rethought learning spaces, adapting them to the good practices that were used during the period of solely online teaching.

From Volume 51 Number 4 | July–September 2023

Abstract: This article describes the step-by-step process of campus space reconceptualization. In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a need to rethink learning spaces and adapt them to some of the good practices used during the solely online teaching period. Through cross-functional collaboration and joint governance, a purposefully established task force audited all classrooms at Nazarbayev University (Kazakhstan). It came up with short-term and long-term recommendations. The audit results and recommendations outlined in this article might be useful to university administration and leadership interested in campus repurposing due to pandemic effects on teaching and new formats like hybrid learning that have influenced instruction.

Institutions Mentioned: Nazarbayev University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: COVID-19, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Hybrid Learning, Learning Environments, Online Learning, Renovation, Space Assessment, Teaching and Learning

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Regionalism, Ecology, and Field-Based Learning

Partnerships Broaden Study Opportunities

By: Josh Harrold, BArch, BFA, AIA

In the rural and remote heart of the Ozark Mountains, Missouri State University and its Ozarks Education Center leverage the unique characteristics of the region to create a setting that supports hands-on active learning.

From Volume 51 Number 4 | July–September 2023

Abstract: Missouri State University’s Ozarks Education Center, in the heart of the Ozark Mountains, provides a case study for outdoor, field-based, and architectural regionalism education. It offers unparalleled student opportunities for tailored regional learning experiences and research options, while fostering partnerships with external organizations outside of the main campus environment. In this article, we share how being true to the region’s historical architecture and ecology, especially in undervalued and isolated locations, and incorporating site-specific approaches in a remote setting support off-the-grid learning in the post-COVID academic landscape.

Institutions Mentioned: Missouri State University
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Active Learning Environments, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Learning Environments, Placemaking, Rural Campus, Science / Engineering Facility

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What Is Your Crisis ‘What If’?

Create a Sustainable Approach to Emergency Response Planning

By: Jessica A. Luedtke, PhD, and Mary M. Reinke, MBA, MS

The Medical College of Wisconsin planned strategically, engaged executive leadership, and operationalized an Administrative Response Team to navigate critical incidents impacting the university.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Institutions Mentioned: Medical College of Wisconsin
Planning Types: Continuity Planning
Tags: Building (or Writing) the Plan, Communication, Crisis and Disaster Management, External Collaboration / Partnerships, Leadership, Medical / Allied Health Education, Modifying the Plan, Recovery Planning, Response Planning, Risk Management, Scenario Planning, Security

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Tell Us What You Think

Smith College Drafted Its Master Landscape Plan Through Robust Stakeholder Engagement

By: Signe Nielsen, BS, BA, RLA, FASLA

More than 1,600 students and alumnae provided input through online mapping tools and in-person workshops. Staff and faculty were interviewed in person and via phone. And Instagram was used to reach 6,400 members of the campus community.

From Volume 51 Number 3 | April–June 2023

Abstract: Smith College commissioned MNLA to develop its 20-year Landscape Master Plan to address climate change impacts, inclusiveness, and pedagogy. The process was grounded in robust campus engagement over 18 months. More than 1,600 students and alumnae provided input through online mapping tools and in-person workshops that used cutouts and puzzles to reimagine the open spaces on campus. Staff and faculty were interviewed in person or via phone on ways to incorporate scholarship in the landscape, and 6,400 members of the campus community were reached through Instagram. An online magazine published by MNLA kept the campus community updated on findings, alternative plans, and conclusions.

Institutions Mentioned: Smith College
Planning Types: Campus Planning
Tags: Adaptable Plans, Campus Master Planning, COVID-19, Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI), Engaging Stakeholders, Facilities Design, Facilities Planning, Landscape / Open Space, Placemaking, Planning Processes, Student Engagement, Sustainability (Environmental)

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Example Plans

Published
May 17, 2023

Bridge Plan

Public Associate’s College (Arizona, United States)

From April 2020, the institution’s president led faculty and staff in a rigorous planning and exploration process to ensure that the college remained accessible and thriving through the pandemic and beyond. This bridge plan document details the action steps resulting from that process.

Planning Types: Continuity Planning
Resource Types: Bridge Plan
Tags: Bridge Planning, Community College, COVID-19, Goals, Hybrid Learning, Leadership Attitude Toward Planning, Online Learning, Operational Planning, Organizational Culture, Response Planning, Scenario Planning, Strategies and Tactics, Student Experience, Teaching and Learning

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Planning Types

Challenges