Learning Resources

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 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 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 University of Utah administration introduced a major initiative to ensure that each student has an opportunity for a transformative educational experience. In response to this challenge, the Department of Geology and Geophysics developed a prototype for a transformative educational environment in the new Frederick Albert Sutton building. This built environment is designed to engage, inspire, and teach, and its accomplishments set a high bar for campus design. The result is a new paradigm for campus planning. This article traces the pioneering Sutton Geology and Geophysics Building as an exemplary model that uses two tangible design elements to support an outreach vision: academic branding and showcasing of the academic discipline. The reactions to the Sutton Building and the documented outcomes are the measure of ultimate success. The second half of the article presents the framework used to create a transformative educational environment, applicable to other campus buildings of any size or academic discipline. A road map of seven steps leads designers and academics to understand the creative vision and presents methods for implementing and repeating successes that change the educational environment through innovative campus design.

Abstract: This article describes a renovation/addition project for Newcomb Hall, the student union facility on the grounds of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, that is nearing completion. Showcasing sustainable preservation practices involved in improving an existing structure, this article highlights cooperative efforts among students, faculty, architects, and contractors to upgrade a 1950s-era building with 21st-century technologies. Newcomb Hall’s interior has expanded with new entrances, increased square footage, and state-of-the-art communication and code-safety components that will continue to serve a host of university activities and related organizations. Theater and dining facilities have also been upgraded. Further, building functions have continued throughout this multifaceted project. Maintaining operations during the renovations resulted in time and cost savings and could provide a model for other colleges and universities pursuing similar projects.

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.

Abstract: Traditional college and university space planning methods largely ignore issues of quality, money, and mission, focusing instead on the application of formulae to strictly categorized space types. Today’s complex challenges, including a significantly reduced resource base, motivate an evolution in methodology. Opportunities exist to strengthen technical underpinnings and to question key assumptions, particularly the value of benchmarking. This book sketches this evolved comprehensive space planning practice, with its emphases on utilization, economic value, quality, and accountability both to the institutional mission and to stakeholders.