Learning Resources

Abstract: Beautiful buildings are built for schools from kindergarten through higher education. Why do we insist on designing our learning settings based on just the question, “How many ‘bums’ in seats do you need?” and the response, “Oh, we have a template for that” (i.e., row-by-column seating with X numbers). The world of education is being turned upside down by the “entrepreneurs” of education—the K–12 arena—as changes to pedagogy, technology, and space are being made and children’s brains are actually being altered due to the digital age. Higher education’s educators and the designers who develop educational solutions are hereby issued a wake-up call to change.

Abstract: This article examines current trends in campus development in China. The context of ancient cultural symbolism is juxtaposed with the often-expressed intent to emulate Western campus design precedents. The apparent complexity and seeming contradictions of Oriental culture are reviewed in comparison to attitudes about historic campus development in America. A case study design for a new campus in China illustrates how symbolic narrative may be expressed in the physical environment. The importance of genius loci or a distinctive sense of place is reaffirmed with a call for multi-dimensional considerations to inform and advance ecologically sensitive and meaningful campus designs everywhere.

Abstract: This article discusses two different planning aspects of residential construction and renovation. The first half of the article focuses on the optimal planning research that an institution should undertake to inform its physical and residential-life programs. This section describes a data-driven exploration that uses methodologies such as peer benchmarking; population mapping; and stakeholder interviews, surveys, and focus groups. Then, the second half of the article reviews the latest trends in undergraduate housing and residential-life programs, including housing options that provide staged independence from year to year; themed housing and living-learning communities; building sustainability; and trends in room sizes, beds, and bathrooms. The article concludes with a look at emerging trends and future questions.

Abstract: For the last 15 years, the University System of Georgia (USG) has implemented its campus master plan template, which includes traditional space planning methodologies, with the assistance of many different consultants. This experience has caused the system to question the value of traditional approaches in guiding capital allocation resource decisions. Many USG institutions function reasonably well with far less space in some categories than traditional guidelines recommend, calling into question the orthodoxy surrounding space “needs.” Different consultants report wildly differing estimates of needs for institutions with similar missions, enrollments, and program mix. Moreover, these needs far exceed available capital. In response, the system has formulated a new methodology for measuring the utilization of space to guide space management and capital allocation decisions for individual institutions and the system as a whole. The goal was to create a process that is understandable, easy to implement, and less prone to distortion that existing methodologies, whose calculations are often complicated and unclear. The new approach includes an overlay taxonomy that groups spaces with similar functions into buckets to minimize the effects of miscategorizations and to provide the atomic units for new utilization metrics, greatly reducing the overall number of required measurements and providing information reflective of modern space usage. The resulting metrics provide new thinking, particularly for classroom and social spaces.

Abstract: This article covers an approach to the housing master planning process through work performed at The University of Alabama and The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. The unique outcomes and recommendations derived from each plan will be explained through four facets: (1) existing conditions, including why the time was right for master planning; (2) the strategic vision/mission of each institution; (3) market realities; and (4) final recommendations/next steps. Distinctive recommendations and findings show that housing master plans should not follow a boilerplate template but instead follow the individual institutional mission and direction. Finally, the article shows that although the two housing master plans differ, they both provide value by helping to inform future housing decisions at their respective institutions.

Abstract: The LEED® Green Building Rating system was designed to transform the American building industry. Colleges and universities have become important contributors to the green movement, and today higher education represents one of LEED’s largest user groups. This article investigates the popularity of LEED in higher education—probing strengths, weaknesses, and issues of cost—and identifies trends in universities’ use of the rating system. The article also identifies trends in campus construction and discusses planning practices that can help university administrators who seek to foster transformational change and organizational learning. The article concludes with recommendations for improving LEED and the way institutions use it.

Abstract: This project examines the evolution of the campuses of Harvard, Yale, Penn, Princeton, and Columbia (collectively referred to in this study as “the Five”) from their founding, through the centuries of their development, and into the future to better understand how academic and other forces gave form to the buildings and grounds and how historical outcomes may inform future growth.

Essays and illustrations present and analyze the vision plans currently under consideration by each university. As these plans are works-in-progress, web links are provided to follow evolution beyond today. A capstone essay titled “Hindsight-Foresight” presents themes linking the past, present, and future of campus development at the Five. The goal of the project–through publication, exhibition, and live presentation/discussion–is to engage campus planners, other design professionals, and architectural historians in further exploring how academic and other forces gave form to the buildings and grounds and how historical outcomes may inform future growth.