Learning Resources

Abstract: As mid-20th-century buildings reach the end of their service life, academic institutions are confronted by the challenge of renovating them while they remain partially occupied. When appropriate swing space is unavailable, or when there is no potential for vacating a building completely to allow renovation to occur more efficiently, a phased approach becomes necessary. The consequences of committing to phased renovation, however, are not only logistical, but also financial, programmatic, and technical. Through analysis of phased renovation projects across multiple building types, one can extract best practices for planning, design, and construction to mitigate many of the most common challenges.

Abstract: Renovating campus buildings that are partially occupied is a frequent challenge. Planning and executing an efficient phased renovation optimizes resource use and minimizes disruption. This presentation will focus on lessons learned in three case studies of phased renovations, comprising mid-20th century science and humanities buildings as well as student housing. You will learn about best practices from projects across multiple building types as well as examine planning methodologies, design processes, and technical challenges for broader applicability.

Abstract: After a campus tragedy, the first steps for the community toward settling into the new normal often entail working through the gravity of recent events. This work includes a need for internal reflection, external processing, and collective healing. Campus communities engaged in this process often find a way to memorialize the events that have shaken them and to honor the lives of any community members lost to tragedy. This research project focuses on physical memorials that are the result of a tragic moment in institutional history.

Abstract: What fuels the push toward privatization of public higher education institutions? This article attempts to unravel the nine beliefs that underlie conversations taking place in state legislatures and on higher education campuses and then asks, Will privatization work? How will it work for the state's citizens, the states, and institutions? The answer is mixed and depends upon how certain questions are answered and how much faith one places in the higher education market.

Abstract: This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes. The main issues related to the characteristics of contemporary (current) society are identified, and their implications on the institutional and spatial structure of the university are analyzed. The article concludes with a methodological generation of alternative scenarios for the physical structure of the university of the future.

Abstract: Campus chapels once bespoke a school’s curriculum, defined the student body, contributed to ambiance, and served as a recruitment tool for parents looking to religion to influence their children’s character. As schools strayed from their religious roots, encountered pressing program needs, and faced funding concerns, many of these rarely used buildings fell into disrepair. In the last few years, efforts to preserve an institution’s heritage, maximize space, and address spirituality have led schools to consider restoring and reusing campus chapels. This article focuses on keeping the chapel’s original design intent while capitalizing on its strengths to upgrade the building and supplement its usage.

Abstract: This article explains the various steps taken by Cornell University to create a Freshmen Campus on their North Campus. It first explores the reasoning about the decision to create a Freshmen Campus and then explains the process whereby the plan was developed. It compares the developed new physical plan to other campuses as well. Within the article are planning guidelines for designing new freshmen residence halls and dining facilities.

Abstract: The purpose of this article is to emphasize the concept of utopia, which universities have used throughout history in developing their “spaces of knowledge.” This concept should continue to be an objective in the 21st century as universities look for paradigms in the architectural layout of their institutions. The implicit principle of this article is that good architecture is a necessary component in achieving educational excellence.

Abstract: The quality of campus life in large universities has declined over the years as faculty have given up responsibility for student life outside the classroom and institutions have become ever more bureaucratized. To solve this problem, universities should establish systems of small, decentralized academic communities modeled ultimately on the residential colleges of the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. In the United States, Harvard and Yale Universities first adopted this residential college model in the 1930s, and it is now spreading to many institutions, public and private, large and small.

Abstract: Increasingly, historic or merely old houses near campuses are being absorbed by universities to fulfill their educational mission and round out the facilities inventory. But are they worth converting? Experts in assessing and adapting these residential structures discuss the pro's and con's.