Learning Resources

Abstract: As with all educational institutions, the visual identity of a Christian college results from both a professional’s design principles and users’ own experiences and associations. While the two may be related, they are by no means the same. A logical symbolic center for many Christian campuses, a chapel facilitates religious activity and carries emotional attachments bound up with the community’s sense of place. However, it is not clear how the community members of a Christian college perceive the importance of their chapel relative to the importance placed on it by an architect’s strong campus design principles.
Calvin College, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, serves as a case study, offering an example of how a college community might regard the importance of a chapel building over and against its architect’s strong design principles. The chapel building was not conceived as a primary expression of the college’s visual identity and thus was only incidentally associated with the architect’s overarching vision for the campus. This case study asks if the community of Calvin College perceives the chapel as a powerful campus placemarker contributing to the current visual identity of the institution. The results of this study illustrate that a chapel building can work as an institutional symbol for a Christian college, representing the institution’s identity even when it stands apart from strong campus design principles.

Abstract: Consortia tend to be groups of either public or private institutions that have formed an alliance that allows them to achieve more collectively than they could individually, and consortial efforts are gaining moment as significant powerhouses in enhancing academic life on campus and reducing administrative expenses. This article examines some of the current consortial models, which have two primary areas of focus: academic affairs and administrative functions. The potential for building academic breadth/depth on campus and the possibility of cost savings offer a powerful incentive for institutions to explore avenues for substantial consortial efforts. This overview includes a question set that should be addressed before embarking on a collaboration.

Abstract: Will online education render the traditional university campus irrelevant? Is there a there there when it comes to online education? What makes the flesh-and-blood, brick-and-mortar material realm still relevant—even essential—to education? While online education has brought with it radical transformation, bringing people together in physical space is and will be essential for student success. The reasons for coming together, however, are changing; institutions must adapt if they are to remain vital. Institutions need to know where they stand. What is their “there”? What can they do “there” that cannot be done online?

Abstract: During a discussion exploring a proposed campus center renovation at Rollins College, a dialogue emerged about the institution’s plan, facility functions, and ultimate student life experience. To capture this dynamic exchange, the design team created a strategic visioning exercise—“Bubble Goo”—to better understand the relationship of the proposed renovation to other “neighborhood” buildings. In this article, the authors unveil this successful new collaborative approach to long-term planning and space allocation and explore the significance and benefit of understanding every campus building, their individual functions, and how to create meaningful and strategic connections.

Abstract: This article explores the challenges and opportunities in transforming the former Camarillo State Mental Hospital into a 21st-century campus of interdisciplinary education for California State University Channel Islands, the newest campus in the California State University system. The university, guided by the campus master plan by Ayers Saint Gross, is transforming the hospital’s historic structures, originally designed to isolate patients, into open, collaborative environments to promote integrative learning. This article focuses on the integration of planning efforts with the university’s academic priorities, highlighting the balancing act between preserving historic integrity and advancing institutional goals.

Abstract: This article presents a rigorous methodology for objectively analyzing whether a college or university should drill for natural gas on property it owns, either at its own expense or by contracting with a for-profit exploration and production company. It describes the acquisition of gas well production data and the utilization of that data in a mathematical model to forecast likely production from a new well. In addition, the article describes the financial analysis used to assess the likely fiscal impact of drilling a well and summarizes the non-quantitative factors that should also be considered in making a decision whether to drill for gas.

Abstract: Many on-site generators on college and university campuses may be avoided with no loss in backup power availability when a district energy system is used as the normal source of power. This has obvious benefit in terms of site impact and the reduction in greenhouse gases. In many cases, this backup power will be less expensive and more reliable than a system of building-specific on-site generators. Getting this possibility driven into the engineering culture and financial balance sheets is the hard part.

Abstract: The recently completed Stokes Hall at Boston College creates a new base for the humanities. Designed in the campus’s historic Collegiate Gothic style, this new facility and the future companion buildings anticipated in the Middle Campus master plan will add value to the university by extending the existing architectural tradition to the edges of the Middle Campus. This extension of the Middle Campus architecture and landscape will emphasize and support BC’s planning goals and mission through greater public visibility of its iconic built forms and create memorable experiences and a sense of community for all users.