THE SPIRIT OF CAMPUS DESIGN: A reflection on the words of Werner Sensbach #Campus #Planning #Design #University #Architect
Posted: January 25, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Campus Planning & Design, Higher Education - Architecture & Design | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Campus, Campus facilities, Campus planning, Design, Designer, FC3, Planning, Poetry, University, Urban Planning Leave a comment
Photo Credit: Mike Peters
In 1991, Werner Sensbach, who served for over 25 years as Director of Facilities Planning and Administration at the University of Virginia, wrote a paper titled “Restoring the Values of Campus Architecture”. The paragraphs that follow were excerpted from that article. They seem particularly appropriate to Montclair State University as it looks at its present campus facilities and forward to the planning of future facilities on a piece of land of spectacular beauty.
Nearly two thousand years ago, the Roman architect Vitruvius wrote that architecture should provide firmness, commodity, and delight. It is the definition of “delight” that still troubles us today. This is especially so on college campuses. Many who try to give voice to what it is that brings delight in a building or an arrangement of buildings may mention the design, the placement on the site, the choice of building materials, the ornamentation, or the landscaping. But mostly it’s just a feeling, or a sense that things are arranged just right, or a sensation of pleasure that comes over us. So academics, like nearly everyone else, often are unsure when planning for new campus construction about what is likely to be delightful. Even though the United States has 3,400 colleges, while most other advanced nations only have a few dozen, we simply have not developed in the United States a sensibility, a vocabulary, a body of principles, an aesthetic for campus architecture.
That each campus should be an “academic village” was one of Thomas Jefferson’s finest architectural insights. Higher learning is an intensely personal enterprise, with young scholars working closely with other scholars, and students sharing and arguing about ideas, religious beliefs, unusual facts, and feelings. A human scale is imperative, a scale that enhances collegiality, friendships, collaborations on research.
I believe the style of the campus buildings is important, but style is not as important as the village-like atmosphere of all the buildings and their contained spaces. University leaders must insist that architects they hire design on a warm, human scale. Scale, not style, is the essential element in good campus design. Of course, if an inviting, charming campus enclosure can be combined with excellent, stylish buildings so much the better.
The third imperative for campus planners, the special aesthetic of campus architecture, or the element of delight, is the hardest to define. It is the residue that is left after you have walked through a college campus, a sense that you have been in a special place and some of its enchantment has rubbed off on you. It is what visitors feel as they enjoy the treasures along the Washington Mall, or others feel after leaving Carnegie Hall, Longwood Gardens in southeastern Pennsylvania, Chartres Cathedral, the Piazza San Marco in Venice, or the Grand Canyon.
On a college campus the delight is generated by private garden spaces in which to converse, by chapel bells at noon or on each hour, by gleaming white columns and grand stairways, by hushed library interiors, by shiny gymnasiums and emerald playing fields, by poster-filled dormitory suites, by a harmony of windows and roofs, and by flowering trees and diagonal paths across a huge lawn. The poet Schiller once said that a really good poem is like a soft click of a well-made box when it is being closed. A great campus infuses with that kind of satisfaction.
In my view, American’s colleges and universities—and especially their physical planners—need three things to become better architectural patrons. One is a renewed sense of the special purpose of campus architecture. A second is an unswerving devotion to human scale. The third is a sense of the uncommon and particular aesthetic—the delight—that a college or university campus demands.
A surprisingly large sector of the American public has conceded a special purpose to higher education. College campuses have provided a special place for those engaged in the earnest pursuit of basic or useful knowledge, for young people devoted to self-improvement, and for making the country smarter, wiser, more artful, and more able to deal with competitor nations.
Therefore, college and university campuses have a distinct and separate purpose, as distinct as the town hall and as separate as a dairy farm. For most students the four to seven years spent in academic pursuits on a university campus are not only an important period of maturing from adolescence to adulthood but also years of heightened sensory and creative ability, years when the powers of reasoning, feeling, ethical delineations, and aesthetic appreciation reach a degree of sharpness as never before. During college years, young minds absorb impressions that often last for a lifetime: unforgettable lectures, noisy athletic contests, quiet hours in a laboratory or library, jovial dormitory banter, black-robed commencements, encounters with persons of radically different views, the rustle of leaves, transfigured nights. The American college campus serves superbly as an example of Aristotle’s idea of a good urban community as a place “where people live a common life for a noble end.”
Photo Credit: Mike Peters
No architect should be permitted to build for academe unless he or she fully appreciates that his or her building is an educational tool of sorts. New buildings should add to the academic ambiance and enrich the intellectual exchanges and solitary inquiries. They should never be a mere personal statement by the architect or a clever display of technical ingenuity or artistic fashion.
Campus facilities planners need to be sure that the architects they choose are able to incorporate surprise, touches of whimsy, elegance, rapture, and wonder into their constructions. This special campus aesthetic is definitely not a frill. It is what graduates remember decades after they have left the college, and what often prompts them to contribute money to perpetuate the delight. It is what captures high school juniors and their parents in their summer pilgrimages to numerous college campuses to select those two or three institutions to which they will apply.
I think the best way to preserve the particular values of the American college campus is through a three-pronged effort:
The first is to recognize that the village-like university campus is a unique American architectural creation. No other nation has adopted the “academic village” as an architectural and landscaping form, though the ancient Oxbridge colleges came close. Academic leaders should become more knowledgeable about the distinctiveness of their campus communities and more proud of and assertive about maintaining the values of this inventive form.
Second, universities should have a broadly representative and expert blue-ribbon committee to watch over all new construction, not leave it to the vice president for administration, a facilities planner, or a trustee committee. The campus environment should be guarded and enhanced as carefully as the quality of the faculty.
Third, each college and university should draw up a set of design guidelines to help it become a patron who can list what is essential in its campus architecture. These guidelines will differ from campus to campus, but nearly all institutions should include concern for the three fundamentals: academic purpose, human scale, and a special campus aesthetic. Architects can de- sign more effectively and sympathetically if they understand the expectations of the college.
Although these words were written in 1991, they remain true today as Montclair State University continues to grow its enrollment, academic programs, research programs…and the facilities that serve them.
Source: “Restoring the Values of Campus Architecture” by Werner Sensbach (who served for over 25 years as Director of Facilities Planning and Administration at the University of Virginia)
For a list of my projects: Click Here
We would love to hear from you about what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
Higher Education
Posted: July 23, 2018 Filed under: Architectist, Architecture, Design, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, More FC3, Safety, Science & Technology, University | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Campus, College, Design, Education, Higher Education, Planner, University, University Architect Leave a commentBlog Posts Related to Higher Education
- Library of the Future – For Colleges & Universities
- Mansueto Library by JAHN
- Creative Arts Center at Brown University by Diller Scofidio + Renfro
- What is a High Performance School?
- Architect’s Sketchbook – Montclair State University (Sketches by @FrankCunhaIII, 2017)
- 13 Examples of Green Architecture
- WELL Communities: Health & Wellness Lifestyle
- You Know LEED, But Do You Know WELL?
- The 2030 Challenge for Planning @Arch2030
- What is The 2030 Challenge? @Arch2030
- Smart Cities
- Top 20: Technology & Innovation Ideas For Architects
- What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 1: Door Security Guidelines
- What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 2: Ideas & Safety Tips For Schools
- What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 3 Actions We Can Take To Promote Safe And Successful Schools
- What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 4: Safety Guidelines For Schools
My Higher Education Projects
- New Computer Science Facility for College of Science & Mathematics
- School of Nursing & Graduate School
- New Research Facility, Montclair State University
- Conrad J. Schmitt Hall Renovation, Montclair State University
- Frank Sinatra Hall, Montclair State University
- Music School, Montclair State University
- Student Recreation Center, Montclair State University
- College Hall (In Progress)
- Conceptual Design – Adaptive Re-Use of Existing Cogeneration Plant
- Conceptual Design – Study Atrium
- Small Project – Successful Conversion (Tech Classrooms) Before & After
- New Center for Environmental Life Sciences
- Babbio Center, Stevens Institute of Technology
We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
Mansueto Library by JAHN
Posted: July 10, 2018 Filed under: Architecture, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, More FC3, Science & Technology, University | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Chicago, College, conservation, Design, Designer, digitization, Education, Grand Reading Room, Helmut Jahn, Inspiration, Library, Library of the Future, School, state-of-the-art, Sustainability, Technology, University, USA Leave a commentJAHN is an international architectural firm with over 75 years of experience that has achieved critical recognition and won numerous awards. JAHN’s ability to integrate design creativity and corporate professionalism makes it a leading firm in global design Innovation.
The Joe and Rika Mansueto Library opened at the heart of the University of Chicago campus in 2011. It features a soaring elliptical glass dome capping a 180-seat Grand Reading Room, state-of-the-art conservation and digitization laboratories, and an underground high-density automated storage and retrieval system. The Mansueto Library speeds scholarly productivity by allowing for the retrieval of materials within an average time of 3 minutes through use of robotic cranes. Designed by renowned architect Helmut Jahn, the Mansueto Library has been recognized with a Distinguished Building Citation of Merit by the American Institute of Architects’ Chicago chapter and a Patron of the Year Award by the Chicago Architecture Foundation.
Location: University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, United States
Architect: JAHN
Lead Designer: Helmut Jahn
Area: 58,700 SF
Project Year: 2011
The site in the center of theUniversity of Chicago’s Campus is surrounded by a variety of different buildings. With a mixture of styles, ranging from the gothic quadrangle to the south, the Limestone Brutalism of Netsch’s Regenstein Library to the east, the Henry Moore monument and Legorreta’s colorful Student Housing to the north and a building to the west, which will be replaced by a new Science Building. There is not much to relate to.
The problem was to store 3.5 million books with an Automated Storage and Retrieval System (ASRS). The expectations in the brief suggested to house those in a well-designed “Box” above grade. In an effort to infringe as little as possible with the open space, make the Reading Room and the Preservation Department the most pleasant space to be in and in line with our approach to challenge habitual conventions, we opted to put the books below grade, where their environment can be better controlled to achieve the desired constant temperature and humidity of 60 degrees, 30% RH – at less cost. The people-oriented spaces could thus be located at grade in a minimal elliptical glass dome, which fits the context, because it defies conventional relationships.
Murphy Jahn think it has been embraced by the leadership of the University, because it represents the mission of theUniversity of Chicago as catalyst for the advancement of knowledge. It is interesting that this happened at an Institution where the disciplines of Architecture and Engineering are not taught, but a spirit prevails to go beyond where others stop. Science, Physics, the liberal and applied Art start, when others think they are complete.
Once a consensus on the design was reached, the normal process started to solve the problem: comfort and sustainability, light-control, structure, life-safety, operation and maintenance.
The structural grid-shell of 120 x 240 feet and the insulated glazing represent a very minimal and intelligent system for mediating between the varying exterior conditions and the desired interior comfort.
At the interior there is a seamless integration between lighting, air supply and furnishings, which were fabricated in solid European White Oak.
More than anybody the users will benefit from an environment that is pleasant and conductive to study and research. This is not your classical Library, but points to the library of the future.
We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
Library of the Future – For Colleges & Universities
Posted: July 6, 2018 Filed under: Architecture, Design, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, More FC3, University | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Artificial Intelligence, Campus, College, College Students, Design, Designer, digital scholarship, Education, Future, Gensler, Higher Ed, Higher Education, ILMA, Innovation, innovative, Internet of Things, librarian, Library, Library of the Future, library resources, New Jersey, NJ, patron, Perkins+Will, Research, Research University, scholarship technologies, social learning, Steelcase, Steelcase WorkSpace, student, students, technologies, Technology, Trends, University Leave a commentIf the classroom is the heart of higher education, the library is its soul.
Brief History of College Libraries
Typically, undergraduate libraries were not often discussed during the first part of the 20th century — It was thought that the basic library collections were able to meet the needs of all users, undergraduates, graduate students and faculty.
As a result of the rapid increase in the student population after World War II, undergraduate service became an issue for library and university administrators. With the growth of a complex research-oriented library and university system, undergraduate students were often bewildered. Huge card catalogs, closed book stacks and extensive reference materials overwhelmed new students and many did not seek assistance.
Harvard’s Lamont Library was the first large university’s effort to open an undergraduate library. Many other universities followed suit, such as Michigan, Texas and South Carolina. Some established full-scale libraries while others provided separate reading rooms aimed at undergraduates. One characteristic of these projects was that the books were housed in open stacks. Through design and layout undergraduate libraries and reading rooms tried to convey an informal and accessible air.
(Source: https://www.library.wisc.edu/college/about-college/history-of-college-library/)
Robert W. Woodruff Library- Atlanta University Center
“Libraries need to break out…. We need to rethink our whole attitude about the relationship between students and space, furniture, and information, and redefine what a library should be.”
–Lee Van Orsdel Dean of University Libraries, Grand Valley State University
In a digital world, libraries are “ripe for reinvention,” says Derek Jones, Principal in Perkins+Will’s Raleigh, N.C., office. Colleges are trimming the space their libraries allocate for books and storage and are forming consortiums to share resources. Digitization is facilitating just‑in‑time delivery of information and materials, although, as Jones points out, “when you have a million items and no budget, digitizing can be a formidable task.”
Steelcase WorkSpace Futures researchers and designers have developed key design principles for planning 21st century libraries. Like the classroom design principles, they’re based on primary user-centered research. The library design principles reflect the changed nature of a library in higher education today:
- Design library spaces that support social learning
- Support the librarian’s evolving role
- Optimize the performance of informal spaces
- Plan for adjacencies
- Provide for individual comfort, concentration, and security
- Provide spaces that improve awareness of, and access to, library resources
These top 10 highlights capture the big picture themes of organizational change that need to take place to develop a Library of the Future for institutions of higher education:
Libraries remain the gatekeepers to rich tapestries of information and knowledge. As the volume of web resources increases, libraries are charged with finding new ways to organize and disseminate research to make it easier to discover, digest, and track.
Incorporating new media and technologies in strategic planning is essential. Libraries must keep pace with evolving formats for storing and publishing data, scholarly records, and publications in order to match larger societal consumption trends favoring video, visualizations, virtual reality, and more.
In the face of financial constraints, open access is a potential solution. Open resources and publishing models can combat the rising costs of paid journal subscriptions and expand research accessibility. Although this idea is not new, current approaches and implementations have not yet achieved peak efficacy.
Libraries must balance their roles as places for both independent study and collaboration. Flexibility of physical spaces is becoming paramount for libraries to serve as campus hubs that nurture cross-disciplinary work and maker activities — without eschewing their reputations as refuges for quiet reflection.
Catering to patrons effectively requires user centric design and a focus on accessibility. Adopting universal design principles and establishing programs that continuously collect data on patron needs will make libraries the ultimate destination for learning support and productivity.
Spreading digital fluency is a core responsibility. Libraries are well-positioned to lead efforts that develop patrons’ digital citizenship, ensuring mastery of responsible and creative technology use, including online identity, communication etiquette, and rights and responsibilities.
Libraries must actively defend their fundamental values. In times of economic and political unrest, libraries will be challenged to uphold information privacy and intellectual freedom while advocating against policies that undermine public interests and net neutrality.
Advancing innovative services and operations requires a reimagining of organizational structures. Rigid hierarchies are no longer effective. To meet patrons’ needs, libraries must draw from different functional areas and expertise, adopting agile, matrix like paradigms.
Enabled by digital scholarship technologies, the research landscape is evolving. GIS data, data visualization, and big data are expanding how information is collected and shared. These tools are helping libraries preserve and mine their collections while illuminating collaborative opportunities.
Artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things are poised to amplify the utility and reach of library services. These emerging technologies can personalize the library experience for patrons, connecting them more efficiently to resources that best align with their goals.
(Sources: http://uwmltc.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/360_Issue60-1-small.pdf and https://www.steelcase.com/research)
We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 4: Safety Guidelines For Schools
Posted: March 7, 2018 Filed under: Architecture, Design, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, Safety, Uncategorized | Tags: Access Control, Active Shooter, AHC/CDC, AIA, Architect, Architecture, Blocked Entry, Board of Education, BOE, Building Code, Campus, Campus Police, Campus Safety, CCPR, Checklist, Child, Children, Classroom Door Security, Code, Current Events, Delayed Response, Design Professional, Designer, Door Barricades, Elementary Schools, eMBA, FDAI, FDHI, Fire Code, Fire Marshals, First Responder, First Response, Hardware, IBC, Integrated Design Process, Life Safety Code, MBA, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, Parent, Problem, Problem Solver, Protect Our Children, PTO, Safety, Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, School, School Security, School Voilence, Teachers Union, The National Association of School Psychologists NASP, Unauthorized Engagement, University Architect, Voilence, White Paper, Wicked Problem Leave a comment
Photo Source: The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
The Following is Based on the Final Report of the Sandy Hook Advisory Commission
School Site Perimeter Standards
- Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a crime prevention strategy that uses architectural design, landscape planning, security systems, and visual surveillance to create a potentially crime free environment by influencing human behavior and should be applied when appropriate.
- Fencing, landscaping, edge treatment, bollards, signage, exterior furnishings and exterior lighting may be used to establish territorial boundaries and clearly delineate areas of public, semi-public, semi-private, and private space.
Access Control
- School boundaries and property lines shall be clearly demarcated to control access to a school facility and shall clearly delineate areas of public, semi-public, semi-private, and private space.
- Where a school is a shared use facility that serves the community, internal boundaries shall be clearly defined to establish a distinct perimeter for both the school and the shared use facilities with separate and secure access points that are clearly defined. Boundaries may be defined by installing fencing, signage, edge treatment, landscaping, and ground surface treatment.
- The number of vehicle and pedestrian access points to school property shall be kept to a minimum and shall be clearly designated as such.
- Directional signage shall be installed at primary points of entry to control pedestrian and vehicular access and to clearly delineate vehicular and pedestrian traffic routes, loading/unloading zones, parking and delivery areas. Signage should be simple and have the necessary level of clarity. Signage should have reflective or lighted markings.
- A means shall be provided to achieve and enforce identity authentication and entry authorization at locations and areas established by school operations protocols.
Surveillance
- The design shall allow for the monitoring of points of entry/egress by natural and/or electronic surveillance during normal hours of operation and during special events.
- At minimum, electronic surveillance shall be used at the primary access points to the site for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
- All points of vehicular entry/egress shall be adequately illuminated to enhance visibility for purposes of surveillance.
- Designated pedestrian and vehicular traffic routes shall be adequately illuminated to reinforce natural and or electronic surveillance during evening hours.
- Locate access points in areas of high visibility that can be easily observed and monitored by staff and students in the course of their normal activities. Natural surveillance may be maximized by controlling access points that clearly demarcate boundaries and spaces.
- Video surveillance systems may be used around the site perimeter to provide views of points of entry/egress and as a means to securely monitor an area when natural surveillance is not available.
- Lighting should be sufficient to illuminate potential areas of concealment, enhance observation, and to provide for the safety of individuals moving between adjacent parking areas, streets and around the school facility.
- Consider the design of video surveillance systems which have the ability to be used locally (on site) by emergency responders and viewed off-site at appropriate locations.
Parking Areas and Vehicular and Pedestrian Routes
- At the minimum, electronic surveillance shall be used at the primary access points to the site for both pedestrian and vehicular traffic.
- Designated pedestrian and vehicular points of entry/egress and traffic routes shall be adequately illuminated to reinforce natural and or electronic surveillance.
- Signage shall be posted at all vehicular access points and in delivery zones, parking areas and bus loading/unloading zones with rules as to who is allowed to use parking facilities and when they are allowed to do so. Signage should be simple and have the necessary level of clarity. Signage should have reflective or lighted markings.
- Parking areas shall be adequately illuminated with vandal resistant lighting.
- Parking shall be prohibited under or within the school building.
- Adequate lighting shall be provided at site entry locations, roadways, parking lots, and walkways from parking to buildings.
- Gas service rooms, exterior meters/regulators shall be secured.
- External access to school facilities shall be kept to a limited number of controlled entrances. Vehicular circulation routes shall be separated and kept to a minimum of two routes per project site for purposes of separating service and delivery areas from visitors‘ entry, bus drop-off, student parking and staff parking. Circulation routes shall be separated, clearly demarcated, and easily supervised. Provide vehicle interdiction devices at building entries to preclude vehicle access into the building.
- A drop-off/pick-up lane shall be designated for buses only with a dedicated loading and unloading zone designed to adequately allow for natural and/or electronic surveillance and to avoid overcrowding and accidents.
- Design entry roads so that vehicles do not have a straight-line approach to the main building. Use speed-calming features to keep vehicles from gaining enough speed to penetrate barriers. Speed-calming features may include, but are not limited to, speed bumps, safety islands, differing pavement surfaces, landscape buffers, exterior furnishings and light fixtures.
- Signage text should prevent confusion over site circulation, parking, and entrance location. Unless otherwise required, signs should not identify sensitive or high risk areas. However, signs should be erected to indicate areas of restricted admittance and use of video surveillance.
- Parking areas should be designed in locations that promote natural surveillance. Parking should be located within view from the occupied building, while maintaining the maximum stand-off distance possible.
- Locate visitor parking in areas that provide the fewest security risks to school personnel. The distance at which a potentially threatening vehicle can park in relation to school grounds and buildings should be controlled.
- Consider illuminating areas where recreational activities and other nontraditional uses of the building occur. If video surveillance systems are installed, adequate illumination shall be designed to accommodate it.
- Consider blue light emergency phones with a duress alarm in all parking areas and athletic fields. If utilized, blue light emergency phones shall be clearly visible, readily accessible and adequately illuminated to accommodate electronic surveillance.
- Review vehicle access routes to the school and the site civil design with emergency responders to address their incident response requirements.
- Design walkways from all parking areas so that they can be observed from within the school by appropriate school staff.
Recreational Areas – Playgrounds, Athletic Areas, Multipurpose Fields
- The design shall allow for ground level, unobstructed views, for natural and/or electronic surveillance of all outdoor athletic areas, playgrounds and recreation areas at all times.
- Pre-kindergarten and kindergarten play areas shall be separated from play areas designed for other students and physically secured.
- Athletic areas and multipurpose fields at elementary school buildings shall contain a physical protective barrier to control access and protect the area.
- Playgrounds and other student gathering areas shall be located away from public vehicle access areas, such as streets or parking lots by a minimum of fifty (50) feet unless prohibited by site constraints.
- Consider a physical protective barrier around athletic areas and multipurpose fields at secondary school buildings to control access and protect the area.
- Locate access points to recreational areas in areas of high visibility that can be easily observed and monitored by staff and students in the course of their normal activities. Natural surveillance may be maximized by controlling access points that clearly demarcate boundaries and spaces.
- Pre-K and K play areas should be designed so that they have visual sight-lines to school staff. Fencing should not diminish this visual connection.
- Review the design of these areas with emergency responders to address their incident response requirements.
Communication Systems
- All classrooms shall have two way communications with the administrative office.
- All communication systems shall be installed in compliance with state building and fire code requirements.
- Emergency Communication Systems (ECS) and/or alarm systems shall have redundant means to notify first responders, supporting agencies, public safety officials and others of an event to allow for effective response and incident management. Alarm systems must be compatible with the municipal systems in place. These systems may include radio, electronic, wireless or multimedia technology which provides real time information (such as audio, visual, mapping and relevant data) directly to first responders. Points of Broadcast input for these systems shall be reviewed with emergency responders. A minimum of 2 shall be provided.
- Emergency Communication Systems (ECS) shall be installed and maintained in accordance with NFPA 72, 2010, or the most current fire code standard adopted by the local/state construction code authority. ECS may include but is not limited to public address (PA) systems, intercoms, loudspeakers, sirens, strobes, SMS text alert systems, and other emerging interoperable resource sharing communication platforms. The design of these systems shall be reviewed with emergency responders.
- All new buildings shall have approved radio coverage for first responders within the building based upon the existing coverage levels of communication systems at the exterior of the building. The system as installed must comply with all applicable sections of the Federal Communication Commission (FCC) Rules for Communication Systems and shall coordinate with the downlink and uplink pass band frequencies of the respective first responders. Perform a radio audibility and intelligibility test and modify system design accordingly.
- All in-building radio systems shall be compatible with systems used by local first responders at the time of installation.
- Call buttons with direct intercom communication to the central administrative office and/or security office should be installed at key public contact areas.
- Develop a strategy and “security team” and equip them with hand-held radios so they can be effective participants in the radio communications system.
School Building Exterior – Points of Entry/Egress and Accessibility
- Points of entry/egress shall be designed to allow for monitoring by natural and/or electronic surveillance during normal hours of operation and during special events.
- At minimum electronic surveillance shall be used at the primary points of entry.
- Lighting shall be sufficient to adequately illuminate potential areas of concealment and points of building entry, and, enhance natural and/or electronic surveillance, and discourage vandalism.
- Consider blue light emergency phones with a duress alarm along the building perimeter as needed to enhance security. If utilized, blue light emergency phones shall be clearly visible, readily accessible and adequately illuminated to accommodate electronic surveillance.
- Consider the use of forced entry resistance glazing materials for windows and glazed doors using laminated glass and/or polycarbonate to significantly improve forced entry delay time beyond standard glazing techniques. A five (5) minute forced entry solution should be the design standard.
Main Entrance / Administrative Offices / Lobby
- Main entrances shall be well lit and unobstructed to allow for natural and/or electronic surveillance at all times.
- The design shall allow for visitors to be guided to a single control point for entry.
- The main entrance assembly (glazing, frame, & door) shall be forced entry resistant to the project standard, with a forced entry time rating as informed by local law enforcement response timing.
- Plans shall carefully address the extent to which glazing is used in primary entry ways, areas of high risk and areas of high traffic and the degree to which glazing is installed or treated to be bullet, blast, or shatter resistant to enhance the level of security. The district‘s priorities for the use of natural surveillance, electronic surveillance, natural light and other related security measures may affect this decision and the overall level of security.
- Main entrance doors shall be capable of being secured from a central location, such as the central administrative office and/or the school security office.
- Video surveillance cameras shall be installed in such a manner to show who enters and leaves the building and shall be monitored at locations which are attended whenever the school is occupied.
- The design shall allow for providing visitor accessibility only after proper identification.
- The use of vestibules with forced entry resistant doors and glazing to the project standard should be the design standard.
- The central administrative offices and/or security offices should have an unobstructed view of the main entrance lobby doors and hallways. If feasible, administrative offices abutting the main entrance should be on an exterior wall with windows for natural surveillance of visitor parking, drop off areas, and exterior routes leading to the main entrance.
- Walls, forced entry resistant to the project standard, should be hardened in foyers and public entries. Interior and exterior vestibule doors should be offset from each other in airlock configuration.
- Use vestibules to increase security. The entrance vestibule shall have both interior and exterior doors that are lockable and controllable from a remote location and be designed to achieved enhanced force entry performance as identified to the project forced entry standards.
- When possible, the design should force visitors to pass directly through a screening area prior to entering or leaving the school. The screening area should be an entrance vestibule, the administration/reception area, a lobby check in station, an entry kiosk, or some other controlled area. This controlled entrance should serve as the primary control point between the main entrance and all other areas of the school.
- Control visitor access through electronic surveillance with intercom audio and remote lock release capability at the visitor entrance.
- Restrict visitor access during normal hours of operation to the primary entrance. If school buildings require multiple entry points, regulate those entry points with no access to people without proper identity authentication and entry authorization. Consider an electronic access control system for authorized persons if multiple entry points are utilized during normal hours of operation.
- Install a panic/duress alarm or call button at an administrative/security desk as a protective measure.
- Proximity cards, keys, key fobs, coded entries, or other devices may be used for access control of students and staff during normal hours of operation. The system may be local (residing in the door hardware) or global (building or district- wide). Prior to installing a customized door access control system refer to the local authority having jurisdiction for compliance with state building and fire code.
- Consider sensors that alert administrative offices when exterior doors at all primary and secondary points of entry are left open.
- Consider radio frequency access control devices at primary points of entry to allow rapid entry by emergency responders. Review this technology with the emergency responders which serve the school facility.
- Where “forced entry” required construction is required, the forced entry delay time shall be based on the ERTA, and have the forced entry designs informed/validated by a licensed architect, professional engineer or qualified security consultant.
- Provide closers on these doors so that they automatically return to a closed, latched, and locked position to preclude unauthorized entry.
Exterior Doors
- The design shall allow for the points of entry/egress to be monitored by natural and/or electronic surveillance during normal hours of operation and during special events.
- Lighting at these entry points shall be sufficient to illuminate potential areas of concealment, enhance natural and/or electronic surveillance, discourage and protect against vandalism.
- Tertiary exterior doors shall be hardened to be penetration resistant and burglar resistant.
- All exterior doors shall be equipped with hardware capable of implementing a full perimeter lockdown by manual or electronic means and shall be numbered per the SSIC standards.
- All exterior doors shall be easy to lock and allow for quick release in the event of an emergency by authorized personnel and emergency responders.
- All exterior doors that allow access to the interior of the school shall be numbered in sequential order in a clockwise manner starting with the main entrance. All numbers shall be visible from the street or closest point of entry/egress, contrast with its background and be retro-reflective.
- Doors vulnerable to unauthorized access may be monitored by adding door contacts or sensors, or may be secured through the use of other protective measures, such as delayed opening devices, or video surveillance cameras that are available for viewing from a central location, such as the central administrative office and/or security office.
- Specify high security keys and cylinders to prove access control.
- Provide closers on these doors so that they automatically return to a closed, latched, and locked position to preclude unauthorized entry.
Exterior Windows/Glazing/Films
- Windows may serve as a secondary means of egress in case of emergency. Any “rescue window” with a window latching device shall be capable of being operated from not more than forty-eight (48) inches above the finished floor.
- Each classroom having exterior windows shall have the classroom number affixed to the upper right-hand corner of the first and last window of the corresponding classroom. The numbers shall be reflective, with contrasting background and shall be readable from the ground plain at a minimum distance of fifty (50) feet.
- Plans shall carefully address the extent to which glazing is used in primary entry ways, areas of high risk and areas of high traffic and the degree to which glazing is installed or treated to be bullet, blast, or shatter resistant to enhance the level of security. The district‘s priorities for the use of natural surveillance, electronic surveillance, natural light and other related security measures may affect this decision and the overall level of security.
- Design windows, framing and anchoring systems to be shatter resistant, burglar resistant, and forced entry resistant to the project forced entry standards, especially in areas of high risk. Whenever feasible, specify force entry resistant glazing on all exterior glazing.
- Resistance for glazing may be built into the window or applied with a film or a suitable additional forced entry resistant “storm” window.
- Classroom windows should be operable to allow for evacuation in an emergency. Review with the authority having jurisdiction and fire department to balance emergency evacuation, external access, and security requirements.
School Building Interior
- Interior physical security measures are a valuable part of a school‘s overall physical security infrastructure. Some physical measures such as doors, locks, and windows deter, prevent or delay an intruder from freely moving throughout a school and from entering areas where students and personnel may be located. Natural and electronic surveillance can assist in locating and identifying a threat and minimizing the time it takes for first responders to neutralize a threat.
- The design shall provide for controlled access to classrooms and other areas in the interior that are predominantly used by students during normal hours of operation to protect against intruders.
- All interior room numbers shall be coordinated in a uniform room numbering system format. Numbering shall be in sequential order in a clockwise manner starting with the interior door closest to the main point of entry. Interior room number signage shall be wall mounted. Additional room number signage may be ceiling or flag mounted. Interior room number signage specifications and installation shall be in compliance with ADA standards and other applicable regulations as required.
- Record documentation drawings shall be kept which include floor plans with the room numbering system. These drawings shall be safeguarded but available for emergency responders. Review opportunities for emergency responders agencies to have these drawings as well.
- Review design opportunities to create interior safe havens with forced entry resistant walls and doors. These may be libraries, auditoriums, cafeterias, gyms or portions of school wings or blocks of classrooms.
- Establish separate entrance and exit patterns for areas that have concentrated high- volume use, such as cafeterias and corridors, to reduce time required for movement into and out of spaces and to reduce the opportunity for personal conflict. Separation of student traffic flow can help define orderly movement and save time, and an unauthorized user will perceive a greater risk of detection.
- Consider intruder doors that automatically lock when an intruder alarm or lockdown is activated to limit intruder accessibility within the building. If installed, intruder doors shall automatically release in the event of an emergency or power outage and must be equipped with a means for law enforcement and other first responders to open as necessary.
Interior Surveillance
- An intrusion detection system shall be installed in all school facilities.
- If video surveillance systems are utilized, the surveillance system shall be available for viewing from a central location, such as the central administrative office and/or the school security office, and at points of emergency responder incident management. Review these locations with emergency responders in the design phase.
- Consider electronic surveillance in lobbies, corridors, hallways, large assembly areas, stairwells or other areas (such as areas of refuge/safe havens) as a means to securely monitor those areas when natural surveillance is not available.
- The design of a school facility should allow for the designation of controlled hiding spaces. A controlled hiding place should create a safe place for students and personnel to hide and protect themselves in the event of an emergency. The controlled hiding space should be lockable and readily accessible. A controlled hiding space could be a classroom or some other designated area within the building.
- Design interior hallways and adjacent spaces to provide situational awareness of hallway conditions from these rooms, but also provide means to eliminate vision into these rooms as activated by room occupants.
Classroom Security
- All classrooms shall be equipped with a communications system to alert administrators in case of emergency. Such communication systems may consist of a push-to-talk button system, an identifiable telephone system, or other means.
- Door hardware, handles, locks and thresholds shall be ANSI/BHMA Grade 1.
- All classroom doors shall be lockable from the inside without requiring lock activation from the hallway, and door locks shall be tamper resistant.
- Classroom door locks shall be easy to lock and allow for quick release in the event of an emergency.
- Classroom doors with interior locks shall have the capability of being unlocked/ released from the interior with one motion.
- All door locking systems must comply with life safety and state building and fire codes to allow emergency evacuation.
- Provide doors between adjacent classrooms to provide means of moving classroom occupants from one classroom to the next as a means to relocate students and teachers from an impending hallway threat. Provide such doors with suitable locking hardware to preclude unauthorized tailgating.
- Provide closers on these doors so that they automatically return to a closed, latched, and locked position to preclude unauthorized entry.
- If classroom doors are equipped with a sidelight, the glazing should be penetration/forced entry resistant to the project forced entry standard.
- If interior windows are installed to provide lines of sight into/out of classrooms or other populated areas, certain factors should be taken into consideration relating to the size, placement and material used for those windows, including:
- Minimizing the size of windows or the installation of multiple interspersed smaller windows with barriers in a larger window area to deter intruder accessibility.
- Placing windows at a sufficient distance from the interior locking mechanism to prevent or make difficult the opening of a door or lock from outside.
- Concealing or obstructing window views to prevent an assailant‘s ability to ascertain the status or presence of persons inside of a classroom during lockdown.
- Hardening window frames and glazing to the project forced entry standards to lessen window vulnerability.
Large Assembly Areas (gym, auditorium, cafeteria, or other areas of large assembly)
- Points of entrance and egress shall be clearly demarcated and designed to meet the project forced entry standards.
- Lighting shall be sufficient to illuminate potential areas of concealment, enhance natural and/or electronic surveillance, discourage vandalism and protect against vandalism.
- Electronic surveillance should be used in large assembly areas and at all exit doors to securely monitor those areas when natural surveillance is not available.
Shared Space or Mixed Occupancy (library, BOE, mixed use or other community service)
- Shared space shall have separate, secure and controllable entrances.
- The design of shared space should prevent unauthorized access to the rest of the school.
- The design of shared space shall allow for the monitoring of points of entry/egress by natural and/or electronic surveillance during normal hours of operation.
Roofs
- The design shall allow for roof accessibility to authorized personnel only.
- Access to the roof should be internal to the building. Roof access hatches shall be locked from the inside.
- If external access exists, roof ladders should be removable, retractable, or lockable. Screen walls around equipment or service yards should not provide easy access to the roof or upper windows.
- Provide adequate lighting and controls for roof access means and roof access points into the school.
Critical Assets/Utilities
- Screens at utilities, such as transformers, gas meters, generators, trash dumpsters, or other equipment shall be designed to minimize concealment opportunities and adequate to preclude unauthorized access. Installation of screens at utilities shall be compliant with utility company requirements.
- Access to building operations systems shall be restricted to designated users with locks, keys and/or electronic access controls. Secure all mechanical rooms with intruder detection sensors.
- Loading docks shall be designed to keep vehicles from driving into or parking under the facility.
- Spaces with critical systems shall be provided appropriate graphics to be recognizable to emergency responders.
- Gas meter/regulator rooms shall be provided with forced entry resistant doors and to the project standards.
- Gas leak detection systems/sensors shall be installed wherever gas metering or appliances are installed.
- Shipping and receiving areas shall be separated from all utility rooms by at least fifty (50) feet unless prohibited by site constraints. If a site is determined to be physically constrained from reasonably meeting the fifty (50) foot separation requirement, maximize the separation distance between the receiving area and the utility room to the greatest extent possible. Utility rooms and service areas include electrical, telephone, data, fire alarm, fire suppression rooms, and mechanical rooms.
- Critical building components should be located away from vulnerable areas. Critical building components may include, but are not limited to:
- Emergency generator;
- Normal fuel storage;
- Main switchgear;
- Telephone distribution;
- Fire pumps;
- Building control centers;
- Main ventilation systems if critical to building operation.
- Elevator machinery and controls.
- Shafts for stairs, elevators, and utilities.
Security Infrastructure and Design Strategies
- The design shall include special rooms for hazardous supplies that can be locked.
- The design shall include secured spaces, closets, cabinets or means of protection to minimize the use of dangerous objects from shop, cooking or other similar occupancies.
- Egress stairwells should be located remotely and should not discharge into lobbies, parking or loading areas.
- Trash receptacles, dumpsters, mailboxes and other large containers shall be kept at least thirty (30) feet from the building unless prohibited by site constraints. If a site is determined to be physically constrained from reasonably meeting the thirty (30) foot separation requirement, maximize the separation distance to the greatest extent possible.
(Source: Final Report Of The Sandy Hook Advisory Commission)
Look out for our next post about “What Architects Can Do to Design Safer Classrooms for Our Children.”
We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
What Can Architects Do To Design Safer Classrooms For Our Children? Part 3 Actions We Can Take To Promote Safe And Successful Schools
Posted: March 7, 2018 Filed under: Architecture, Design, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, More FC3, Safety, Uncategorized, University | Tags: Access Control, Active Shooter, AHC/CDC, AIA, Architect, Architecture, Blocked Entry, Board of Education, BOE, Building Code, Campus, Campus Police, Campus Safety, CCPR, Checklist, Child, Children, Classroom Door Security, Code, Current Events, Delayed Response, Design Professional, Designer, Door Barricades, Elementary Schools, eMBA, FDAI, FDHI, Fire Code, Fire Marshals, First Responder, First Response, Hardware, IBC, Integrated Design Process, Life Safety Code, MBA, National Center for Education Statistics, NCES, Parent, Problem, Problem Solver, Protect Our Children, PTO, Safety, Sandy Hook Advisory Commission, School, School Security, School Voilence, Teachers Union, The National Association of School Psychologists NASP, Unauthorized Engagement, University Architect, Voilence, White Paper, Wicked Problem Leave a comment 
Photo Source: S&S Worldwide
Policies and funding that support comprehensive school safety and mental health efforts are critical to ensuring universal and long-term sustainability. However, school leaders can work toward more effective approaches now by taking the following actions:
- Work with School Leadership to promote, develop and establish a “Safety Team” that includes key personnel: principals, teachers, school-employed mental health professionals, instruction/curriculum professionals, school resource/safety officer, and a staff member skilled in data collection and analysis.
- Work with the school’s “Safety Team” assess and identify needs, strengths, and gaps in existing services and supports (e.g., availability of school and community resources, unmet student mental health needs) that address the physical and psychological safety of the school community.
- Assist with the evaluation of the safety of the school building and school grounds by examining the physical security features of the campus.
- Safety Team should review how current resources are being applied.
- Are school employed mental health professionals providing training to teachers and support staff regarding resiliency and risk factors?
- Do mental health staff participate in grade-level team meetings and provide ideas on how to effectively meet students’ needs?
- Is there redundancy in service delivery?
- Are multiple overlapping initiatives occurring in different parts of the school or being applied to different sets of students?
- Safety Team should implement an integrated approach that connects behavioral and mental health services and academic instruction and learning (e.g., are mental health interventions being integrated into an effective discipline or classroom management plan?).
- Safety Team should provide adequate time for staff planning and problem solving via regular team meetings and professional learning communities. Identify existing and potential community partners, develop memoranda of understanding to clarify roles and responsibilities, and assign appropriate school staff to guide these partnerships, such as school-employed mental health professionals and principals.
- Safety Team should provide professional development for school staff and community partners addressing school climate and safety, positive behavior, and crisis prevention, preparedness, and response.
- Safety Team should engage students and families as partners in developing and implementing policies and practices that create and maintain a safe school environment.
- As Architects we can assist the “Safety Team” by utilizing strategies developed by Crime prevention through environmental design(CPTED), a multi-disciplinary approach to deterring criminal behavior through environmental design. CPTED strategies rely upon the ability to influence offender decisions that precede criminal acts. Generally speaking, most implementations of CPTED occur solely within the urbanized, built environment. Specifically altering the physical design of the communities in which humans reside and congregate in order to deter criminal activity is the main goal of CPTED. CPTED principles of design affect elements of the built environment ranging from the small-scale (such as the strategic use of shrubbery and other vegetation) to the overarching, including building form of an entire urban neighborhood and the amount of opportunity for “eyes on the street”.
Image Source: School Security – Threat and Vulnerability Assessments
Sources:
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP)
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) School Violence Prevention
The National Association of School Psychologists (NASP) Framework For Safe Schools
Look out for our next post about “What Architects Can Do to Design Safer Classrooms for Our Children.”
We would love to hear from you on what you think about this post. We sincerely appreciate all your comments – and – if you like this post please share it with friends. And feel free to contact us if you would like to discuss ideas for your next project!
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
