Ask the Architect: What Are Some Questions College Administrators Should Ask Themselves Before They Start Planning for the Future? #Architect #UniversityArchitect #Ideas #Design #Planning
Posted: August 16, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Ask the Architect, Campus Planning & Design, Design, Design Thinking, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, University Leave a commentSometimes Architects Design and Sometimes They Ask Questions – Here are 50 Questions for College Administrators to Consider as They Prepare to Plan For Their Future:
- As an institution what are we good at? What are we not so good at?
- Where do we want to go – What is our vision for where we are headed – academically and as a family of diverse individuals?
- How will people of all ages (continue to) learn in the future?
- How will students live, communicate, develop, work, play, share?
- What is the hierarchical structure of education (Provost, students, Student-Life; Administration vs Educators)?
- How can we address “Exclusivity Vs Inclusivity” within education (i.e., white, blue, green collars all working together)?
- What traditions do we want to keep?
- What traditions do we want to eliminate?
- How can we offer more value? How can we offer more by spending less?
- How can we accelerate/decelerate the process – what needs to speed up and what needs to slow down?
- How can we attract more students from in-state and from out-of-state?
- How can we offer more online/hybrid and flip classroom learning? What other educational methods should we explore?
- Who are our clients? Can we identify the student of the future (identity, celebrate, identity)?
- How can we establish a “network” of future business/professional relationships?
- How can we enable a positive transformation of self-awareness and development into early adulthood?
- The “College Experience,” what does this mean? What will it mean in the future?
- How can we become more sustainable? Are we creating a culture that values the planet?
- What are some sustainable strategies that we do well, what are some we need to work on?
- How can we utilize our spaces more efficiently during off-hours?
- How can we provide better connections to the outdoors, nightlife, theater, arts, dining, sports and other events?
- How can we offer more opportunities for community engagement?
- How can we consider the college campus as a living laboratory?
- What is the changing role of the professor/instructors?
- How can we form better interdisciplinary relationships from different colleges to inter-pollinate ideas with one another?
- How can we focus and capitalize on our strengths instead of our weakness?
- Is the “Tiny house” concept viable for student housing?
- Instead of student housing should we follow a “hotel” model?
- What does a student center of the future look like? What is a library of the future look like?
- Can we create a new model for (higher) education so our students never stop learning/growing?
- Is it viable to transform from a singularly “degree” approach to a “tool box” approach where students gain the building blocks they need for that stage of their career?
- What are some public/private partnership opportunities?
- How can we promote health and wellness on our campus?
- How can we create a walkable campus for all our students and guests?
- How can we support our professors and researchers?
- How can we develop programs that engage the residents of the state?
- How can we develop a culture of caring and giving that shares the same positive values?
- How can we capitalize on our close relationship with local parks?
- How can we create a better connection with urban areas – Jersey City, Patterson, New York City, etc.?
- How can we become an “Innovation” district in our state?
- How can we start recruiting students at an earlier age?
- How can we better retain our students?
- How can we better support our students educational goals?
- How can we offer the best college experience for our students?
- How can our built facilities improve lives of the people we serve?
- How can our grounds improve lives of the people we serve?
- How can our people (bus drivers, gardeners, housekeepers, librarians, etc.) improve lives of the people we serve?
- How can we become an institution that others want to emulate?
- Is there a way that we can work with industry/business partners to leverage our role as an academic research facility?
- How can we make learning fun and enjoyable?
- How can we offer more meaning to people’s lives?
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
Ask the Architect: Why Does Indoor Air Quality Matter?#LEED #WELL #Health #Wellness #Safety #Architect #ilmaBlog
Posted: May 7, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Ask the Architect, Construction, Design, Green, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, Uncategorized, University | Tags: air pollution, Architect, Design, Facilities, FC3, green, Green Architect, High Performance Buildings, Ideas, indoor air quality, LEED, sick building, Sustainability, USGBC, WELL 1 CommentSimply put, indoor air quality matters because human beings are spending more and more time indoors. It is becoming more important than ever to make sure that the buildings that we design, construct and occupy are suitable and safe for the occupants. The following article will draw on both research and experience in the design and construction of high performance buildings to help elaborate on this simple response.
Interesting Facts To Consider About Indoor Air Quality:
- Indoor air often contains 4X to 10X the amount of pollutants of outdoor air.
- Many studies have linked exposure to small particles (PM 2.5—defined as airborne particles smaller than 2.5 microns) with heart attacks, cardiac arrhythmias, strokes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, worsened symptoms of asthma, and an increased risk of respiratory illness.
- The World Health Organization says that particulate matter contributes to about 800,000 premature deaths each year, making it the 13th leading cause of death worldwide.
The built environment around us plays a fundamental role in our overall well-being, particularly the indoor spaces that we inhabit to live, work, learn, play and pray, since most of us spend about 90% of our time indoors. The buildings that we as Architects design and construct have a distinctive capability to positively or negatively impact our health and wellbeing. The air that we breathe inside a building can have a greater consequence on our health. Unfortunately, many contaminants are not visible in the air, so we might not know that they are there. Inhaling air or poor quality can lead to a number of health conditions, including but not limited to: allergies, respiratory disorders, headaches, sore throat, lethargy and nausea.
Sick Building Syndrome
According to the EPA, sick building syndrome (SBS) is used to describe a situation in which the occupants of a building experience acute health- or comfort-related effects that seem to be linked directly to the time spent in the building. No specific illness or cause can be identified. The complainants may be localized in a particular room or zone or may be widespread throughout the building.
LEED Requirements
As more buildings are LEED certified, here are some things to consider about your next project:
To contribute to the comfort and well-being of building occupants by establishing minimum standards for indoor air quality (IAQ) after construction and during occupancy, USGBC LEED v4 requires that the project meet one of the following:
- Minimum indoor air quality performance: Option 1. ASHRAE Standard 62.1–2010 or Option 2. CEN Standards EN 15251–2007 and EN 13779–2007.
- Indoor air quality assessment: Path 1 Option 1. Flush-out, or Path 2. Option 1. During occupancy, or Path 2. Option 2. Air testing – Note: these cannot be combined.
Occupants are increasingly paying more attention to the conditions of their work environment as it relates to health and wellness. This is especially the case for researchers and their lab environments. We see surging growth in universities adopting lab design programs such as Smart Labs which places an emphasis in the indoor environment quality of the lab and through certification programs as:
We need to have a real-time measurement of the all contaminants of inside air and match that with real time control of the outside air coming into the environment. Ideally, we need to design and build facilities that:
- Bring in lots of outside air—but only exactly where and when we need it.
- Measures and controls more than just temperature and CO2.
- Displays the ventilation performance for the building’s occupants.
Health and Cognitive FunctionPerformance Enhancements
Cognitive functions encompass reasoning, memory, attention, and language and lead directly to the attainment of information and, thus, knowledge. United Technologies and The Harvard School of Public Health prepared a study that was designed to simulate indoor environmental quality conditions in green and conventional buildings and evaluate the impacts on an objective measure of human performance—cognitive function. The findings of the report concluded that the impact of the indoor air quality on the productivity of the occupants which revealed the following benefits:
- Lowering the levels of CO2 and VOCs resulted in their participants scoring 61% higher on cognitive function tests compared with those in conventional offices.
- There was a 101% improvement on their cognitive function tests when the ventilation levels were doubled above the standard ASHRAE prescribed levels.
- Information usage scores were 299% higher than conventional offices when the ventilation rates were doubled.
The conclusion of this study is very clear: verified ventilation performance will increase employee and student performance.
Sources & References:
Is Your Building Ventilated Like It’s 1978? By Tom Kolsun
USGBC V4 Requirements for indoor environmental quality
Further Reading:
EPA – An Office Building Occupants Guide to Indoor Air Quality
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!
For More Questions and Answers please check out:
Architects @WJMArchitect And @FrankCunhaIII Respond to ILMA Fan’s Questions “ASK THE ARCHITECT”
Sincerely,
FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
New Campus Center at Springfield Technical Community College #UniversityArchitect #Rehabilitation #Community #College #Architecture #Transformation #ilmaBlog
Posted: April 23, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, More FC3, University | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Campus, Campus Architecture, College, Cool Spaces, Planning, Rehabilitation, Student Center, University Architect Leave a commentAll Photos: Chuck Choi
Combining historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and contemporary architecture, Springfield Technical Community College’s new Campus Center repurposes a 764-foot-long by 55-foot-wide warehouse building originally constructed between 1846 and 1864.
A major aspect of the Springfield, Massachusetts, University’s Campus Center is The Ira H. Rubenzahl Student Learning Commons. The Campus Center and Student Learning Commons consolidate academic services and student life activities under one roof. Corten steel canopies along the building’s facade distinguish new entrances into each hub.
Click Here to read the rest of the story.
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!
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FRANK CUNHA III
I Love My Architect – Facebook
What Will Higher Education Look Like 5, 10 or 20 Years From Now? Some Ways Colleges Can Reinvent Themselves #iLMA #eMBA #Innovation #Technology #Planning #Design #HigherEducation #HigherEd2030 #University #Architect
Posted: April 16, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Ask the Architect, Campus Planning & Design, Design, Design Thinking, Education, Executive MBA, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, JustArch, Leadership, More FC3, Science & Technology, University | Tags: 2030, Architect, Architecture, Citizen Architect, College of the Future, Design, Digital, Education, eMBA, FC3, Future, Future Architect, Future Trends, Futurist Architect, Higher Education, Hybrid, Innovation, Leadership, Learning, management, MBA, Sustainability, Technology, Trends, University, University Architect, University Facilities, Visionary Leave a commentIntroduction
Change is a natural and expected part of running a successful organization. Whether big or small, strategic pivots need to be carefully planned and well-timed. But, how do you know when your organization is ready to evolve to its next phase? Anyone that listens, watches, or reads the news knows about the rising cost of higher education and the increasing debt that education is putting on students and alumni and their families.
At a time when education is most important to keep up with increasing technological changes, institutions need to pivot or face imminent doom in an ever increasing competitive environment. Competition can come from startups or external factors in the higher education market therefore it is increasingly necessary for institutions of higher learning to take a different approach to their business operations.
This post will focus on:
- Current Trends
- Demographic Shifts
- Future of Higher Education (and impacts on University Facilities & Management)
- Changing Assumptions
- Implications for the Physical Campus
- Changing Trajectory
- More Trends in Higher Education (Towards 2030)
- Driving Technologies
- External Forces
Current Trends
- Online education[i] has become an increasingly accepted option, especially when “stackable” into degrees.
- Competency-based education lowers costs and reduces completion time for students.
- Income Share Agreements[ii] help students reduce the risk associated with student loans.
- Online Program Manager organizations benefit both universities and nontraditional, working-adult students.
- Enterprise training companies are filling the skills gap by working directly with employers.
- Pathway programs facilitate increasing transnational education[iii], which serves as an additional revenue stream for universities.
Demographic Shifts
According to data from the National Clearinghouse and the Department of Education[iv]:
- The Average Age of a College/University Student Hovers Around Twenty-Seven (Though That Is Decreasing as The Economy Heats Up)
- 38% of Students Who Enrolled In 2011 Transferred Credits Between Different Institutions At Least Once Within Six Years.
- 38% of Students Are Enrolled Part-Time.
- 64% of Students Are Working Either Full-Time or Part-Time.
- 28% of Students Have Children of Their Own or Care For Dependent Family Members.
- 32% of Students Are from Low-Income Families.
- The Secondary Education Experience Has an Increasingly High Variation, Resulting In Students Whose Preparation For College-Level Work Varies Greatly.
Future of Higher Education (and impacts on University Facilities & Management)
The future of higher education depends on innovation.
University leaders who would risk dual transformation are required to exercise full commitment to multiple, potentially conflicting visions of the future. They undoubtedly confront skepticism, resistance, and inertia, which may sway them from pursuing overdue reforms.[v]
Change is upon us.
“All universities are very much struggling to answer the question of: What does [digitization[vi]] mean, and as technology rapidly changes, how can we leverage it?” . . . . Colleges afraid of asking that question do so at their own peril.”[vii]
James Soto Antony, the director of the higher-education program at Harvard’s graduate school of education.
Changing Assumptions
Until recently the need for a physical campus was based on several assumptions:
- Physical Class Time Was Required
- Meaningful Exchanges Occurred Face to Face
- The Value of an Institution Was Tied to a Specific Geography
- Books Were on Paper
- An Undergraduate Degree Required Eight Semesters
- Research Required Specialized Locations
- Interactions Among Students and Faculty Were Synchronous
Implications for the Physical Campus
- Learning – Course by course, pedagogy is being rethought to exploit the flexibility and placelessness of digital formats while maximizing the value of class time.
- Libraries – Libraries are finding the need to provide more usable space for students and faculty. Whether engaged in study, research or course projects, the campus community continues to migrate back to the library.
- Offices – While the rest of North America has moved to mobile devices and shared workspaces, academic organizations tend to be locked into the private, fixed office arrangement of an earlier era – little changed from a time without web browsers and cell phones.
- Digital Visible – From an institutional perspective, many of the implications of digital transformation are difficult to see, lost in a thicket of business issues presenting themselves with increasing urgency.
Changing Trajectory
University presidents and provosts are always faced with the choice of staying the course or modifying the trajectory of their institutions. Due to failing business models, rapidly evolving digital competition and declining public support, the stakes are rising. All should be asking how they should think about the campus built for the 21st century.[viii] J. Michael Haggans[ix] makes the following recommendations:
- Build no net additional square feet
- Upgrade the best; get rid of the rest
- Manage space and time; rethink capacity
- Right-size the whole
- Take sustainable action
- Make campus matter
More Trends in Higher Education (Towards 2030)
- The Rise of The Mega-University[x]
- ; Public Private Partnerships (P3’s) Procurement Procedures Will Become More Prevalent
- More Colleges Will Adopt Test-Optional Admissions
- Social Mobility Will Matter More in College Rankings
- Urban Colleges Will Expand[xi] — But Carefully
- Financial Crunches Will Force More Colleges to Merge
- The Traditional Textbook Will Be Hard to Find; Free and Open Textbooks
- More Unbundling and Micro-Credentials
- Continued Focus on Accelerating Mobile Apps
- Re-Imagining Physical Campus Space in Response to New Teaching Delivery Methods
- Transforming the Campus into A Strategic Asset with Technology
- Education Facilities Become Environmental Innovators
- Ethics and Inclusion: Designing for The AI Future We Want to Live In
- Visibility (Transparency) And Connectedness
- Sustainability from Multiple Perspectives
- Better Customer Experiences with The Digital Supply Chain
- Individualized Learning Design, Personalized Adaptive Learning
- Stackable Learning Accreditation
- Increased Personalization: More Competency-Based Education They’ll Allow Students to Master A Skill or Competency at Their Own Pace.
- Adaptation to Workplace Needs They’ll Adapt Coursework to Meet Employer Needs for Workforce Expertise
- Greater Affordability and Accessibility They’ll Position Educational Programs to Support Greater Availability.
- More Hybrid Degrees[xii]
- More Certificates and Badges, For Example: Micro-Certificates, Offer Shorter, More Compact Programs to Provide Needed Knowledge and Skills Fast[xiii]
- Increased Sustainable Facilities – Environmental Issues Will Become Even More Important Due to Regulations and Social Awareness; Reduced Energy Costs, Water Conservation, Less Waste
- Health & Wellness – Physical, Spiritual and Metal Wellbeing
- Diversity and Inclusion Will Increase
- Rise of The Micro-Campus[xiv] And Shared Campuses[xv]
- E-Advising to Help Students Graduate
- Evidence-Based Pedagogy
- The Decline of The Lone-Eagle Teaching Approach (More Collaboration)
- Optimized Class Time (70% Online, 30% Face to Face)
- Easier Educational Transitions
- Fewer Large Lecture Classes
- Increased Competency-Based and Prior-Learning Credits (Credit for Moocs or From “Real World” Experience)[xvi]
- Data-Driven Instruction
- Aggressive Pursuit of New Revenue
- Online and Low-Residency Degrees at Flagships
- Deliberate Innovation, Lifetime Education[xvii]
- The Architecture of The Residential Campus Will Evolve to Support the Future.
- Spaces Will Be Upgraded to Try to Keep Up with Changes That Would Build In Heavy Online Usage.
- Spaces Will Be Transformed and Likely Resemble Large Centralized, Integrated Laboratory Type Spaces.
- Living-Learning Spaces in Combination Will Grow, But On Some Campuses, Perhaps Not In The Traditional Way That We Have Thought About Living-Learning To Date.
Driving Technologies:
- Emerging Technologies – Such as Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, And Artificial Intelligence – Will Eventually Shape What the Physical Campus Of The Future Will Look Like, But Not Replace It.[xviii]
- Mobile Digital Transformation[xix]
- Smart Buildings and Smart Cities[xx]
- Internet of Things
- Artificial Intelligence (AI), Including Natural Language Processing
- Automation (Maintenance and Transportation Vehicles, Instructors, What Else?)
- Virtual Experience Labs, Including: Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality Learning, And Robotic Telepresence
- More Technology Instruction and Curricula Will Feature Digital Tools and Media Even More Prominently
- New Frontiers For E-Learning, For Example, Blurred Modalities (Expect Online and Traditional Face-To-Face Learning to Merge)[xxi]
- Blending the Traditional; The Internet Will Play Bigger Role in Learning
- Big Data: Colleges Will Hone Data Use to Improve Outcomes
External Forces:
- [xxii]: Corporate Learning Is A Freshly Lucrative Market
- Students and Families Will Focus More on College Return On Investment, Affordability And Student Loan Debt
- [xxiii]
- Greater Accountability; Schools will be more accountable to students and graduates
- Labor Market Shifts and the Rise of Automation
- Economic Shifts and Moves Toward Emerging Markets
- Growing Disconnect Between Employer Demands and College Experience
- The Growth in Urbanization and A Shift Toward Cities
- Restricted Immigration Policies and Student Mobility
- Lack of Supply but Growth in Demand
- The Rise in Non-Traditional Students
- Dwindling Budgets for Institutions[xxiv]
- Complex Thinking Required Will Seek to Be Vehicles of Societal Transformation, Preparing Students to Solve Complex Global Issues
Sources
& References:
[i] Online education is a flexible instructional delivery system that encompasses any kind of learning that takes place via the Internet. The quantity of distance learning and online degrees in most disciplines is large and increasing rapidly.
[ii] An Income Share Agreement (or ISA) is a financial structure in which an individual or organization provides something of value (often a fixed amount of money) to a recipient who, in exchange, agrees to pay back a percentage of their income for a fixed number of years.
[iii] Transnational education (TNE) is education delivered in a country other than the country in which the awarding institution is based, i.e., students based in country Y studying for a degree from a university in country Z.
[iv] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2019/3/changing-demographics-and-digital-transformation
[v]Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://ssir.org/articles/entry/design_thinking_for_higher_education
[vi] Digitization is the process of changing from analog to digital form.
[vii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://qz.com/1070119/the-future-of-the-university-is-in-the-air-and-in-the-cloud
[viii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: http://c21u.gatech.edu/blog/future-campus-digital-world
[ix] Michael Haggans is a Visiting Scholar in the College of Design at the University of Minnesota and Visiting Professor in the Center for 21st Century Universities at Georgia Institute of Technology. He is a licensed architect with a Masters of Architecture from the State University of New York at Buffalo. He has led architectural practices serving campuses in the US and Canada, and was University Architect for the University of Missouri System and University of Arizona.
[x] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.chronicle.com/interactives/Trend19-MegaU-Main
[xi] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.lincolninst.edu/sites/default/files/pubfiles/1285_wiewel_final.pdf
[xii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.fastcompany.com/3046299/this-is-the-future-of-college
[xiii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.govtech.com/education/higher-ed/Why-Micro-Credentials-Universities.html
[xiv] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://global.arizona.edu/micro-campus
[xv] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/global_learning/a-new-global-model-the-micro-campus
[xvi] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.chronicle.com/article/The-Future-Is-Now-15/140479
[xvii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://evolllution.com/revenue-streams/market_opportunities/looking-to-2040-anticipating-the-future-of-higher-education
[xviii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.eypae.com/publication/2017/future-college-campus
[xix] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2019/02/digital-transformation-quest-rethink-campus-operations
[xx] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://ilovemyarchitect.com/?s=smart+buildings
[xxi] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2018/04/college-online-degree-blended-learning/557642
[xxii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://qz.com/1191619/amazon-is-becoming-its-own-university
[xxiii] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.fastcompany.com/3029109/5-bold-predictions-for-the-future-of-higher-education
[xxiv] Article accessed on April 16, 2019: https://www.acenet.edu/the-presidency/columns-and-features/Pages/state-funding-a-race-to-the-bottom.aspx
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
AIA/ALA’s 2019 Library Building Awards Includes 2 Higher Education Projects #HigherEd #University#Architect #Design #Libraries #CampusPlanning #University #Architect #ilmaBlog
Posted: April 5, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Campus Planning & Design, Design, Higher Education - Architecture & Design | Tags: Architecture, Awards, Campus Architect, Campus planning, College, Design, Library, Library of the Future, University Leave a commentEvery year, the AIA is proud to partner with the American Library Association / Library Leadership and Management Association to honor the best in library architecture and design.
The AIA/ALA Library Building Award is the only award that recognizes entire library structures and all aspects of their design.
This year’s award includes two college/university libraries:
Barnard College – The Milstein Center
Architect: Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (SOM)
Owner: Barnard College
Location: New York
Colorado College Tutt Library Expansion and Transformation
Architect: Pfeiffer
Owner: Colorado College
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Click here to see all the award winners.
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
New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability Point of Intervention Tour
Posted: April 3, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Green, Higher Education - Architecture & Design | Tags: earth day, green, Higher Ed, NJHEPS, Sustainability, University Leave a commentThe Point of Intervention Tour (POI) hosted by the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) is challenging our consumption economy and spreading the message that “Nobody Can Do Everything, But Everybody Can Do Something.” Learn more about the Post Landfill Action Network’s Point of Intervention at several upcoming campus events.
POI will be visiting Montclair State University (Friday, April 12th),Ramapo College (Monday April 15), and Kean
University (Tuesday April 16). At these locations, you’ll find zero-waste workshops and educational presentations about how to get involved in the zero-waste campaign.
Montclair State University’s 2019 Earth Day event, themed “Passport to Sustainability,” is partnered with the New Jersey Higher Education Partnership for Sustainability (NJHEPS) and PSEG Institute for Sustainability Studies (PSEGISS). This event is aimed to inspire a student led zero-waste movement and collectively realize individual skills in order to solve our Linear Consumption Economy issue. During the event we will celebrate Earth Day with a fair involving campus-wide clubs, organizations and departments, educational workshops and guest speakers.
Together we can take action on the waste issue with sustainable, replicable initiatives!

These events are free and open to the public.
When and Where:
- April 12, 2019 – Montclair State University
- April 15, 2019 – Ramapo College of New Jersey
- April 16, 2019 – Kean University
Help share the word by forwarding this email to others who may be interested in this engaging event.
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
What About Public Private Partnerships? #ilmaBlog #HigherEducation #P3 #PPP #University #Architect
Posted: March 22, 2019 Filed under: Architecture, Campus Planning & Design, Education, Higher Education - Architecture & Design, University | Tags: Architect, Architecture, Assets, Budgeting, Business, College, Construction, Delivery Methods, Delivery Models, Design, Developer, Education, Expertise, Facilities, Finance, Higher Education, MBA, P3, Partnership, Private, project management, Public Sector, Risk Management, Strategic Partnerships, Student Housing, Turn Key, Turn Key operation, University Architect Leave a comment
Background on Public Private Partnerships (P3’s):
Many institutions of higher education are facing mounting pressure on their mission to deliver high-quality, affordable education to students and perform world-class research. Reductions in public funding support and concerns about overall affordability present substantial near-term and longer-term budget challenges for many institutions.
Public institutions are predominantly affected, having been constrained by suspensions or reductions in state funding. State appropriations across the US grew by just 0.5% annually between 2005 and 2015. State funding has still not recovered to 2008 levels, the last year in which state funding decisions would not have been affected by the Great Recession.
(Source: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) — state appropriations revenue divided by total fall enrollment, 2005–15)
Public-private partnership models are continuing to proliferate as cash-strapped colleges and universities seek to replace or update aging and outdated infrastructure amid tight finances.
(Source: Proliferating Partnerships)
What is the P3 Delivery Model?
A public-private partnership, or P3, is long-term agreement between a public entity and a private industry team that is tasked with designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining a public facility. The past decade has seen a steady increase in the use of P3 structures, both inside and outside higher education. In 2016, something of a watershed year for P3, multiple high-profile projects came online in response to a variety of public needs, including a $1-billion-plus water infrastructure project servicing San Antonio, and a $300-million-plus renovation of the Denver International Airport’s Great Hall.
(Source: A Few Lessons About Public-Private Partnerships)
“Public” is a non-profit institutional or governmental entity that engages a “private” for-profit entity to pay for a particular project.
The “private” partner provides funding (and often expertise) to deliver (and often operate) the project used by the “public” entity to meet its purposes.
In return for its capital, the “private” entity gets a revenue flow from the asset it has paid for.
(Source: Should your University enter into a Public/Private Partnership – the Pro’s and Con’s)
The emergence of the P3 option is happening where it matters most: projects that would be otherwise unattainable under the traditional public-improvement delivery models. For instance, 10 years ago, only a handful of higher education P3 projects were up and running; today, we are approaching three dozen such projects.
The biggest challenge is, of course, the financing component, but P3 teams bring much more to the table than money — they give public entities access to expertise and innovation that can add significant value to projects at each phase of development.
(Source: A Few Lessons About Public-Private Partnerships)
Illustration of Institutional Functions
Motivations for P3 transactions vary widely, but include:
- Supplementing traditional debt instruments. These include private capital, using off balance sheet or alternative mechanisms.
- Transfer of risk. Historically, universities have born all or most of the risk of facilities-related projects themselves. A P3 is a way to either transfer or at least share the risk.
- Speed and efficiency. A P3 allows for a faster development process, and time to completion is generally shorter and on schedule. The sole focus of the private entity is to complete the project on budget and on time. University infrastructure tends to have competing priorities across all-campus facility needs.
- Outsourcing provision of non-core assets. Outsourcing allows institutions to focus investment of internal resources and capabilities on those functions that are closer to the academic needs of its students.
- Experience. Private partners often have much more experience and skills in a particular development area (e.g., facility architecture and infrastructure, student housing needs) and are able to better accommodate the needs of students, faculty, administrators, etc.
- Planning and budgeting. Private partners offer experience and know-how in long-term maintenance planning and whole life cycle budgeting.
(Source: Public-private partnerships in higher education What is right for your institution?)
The four types of P3s:
- Operating contract/management agreement. Short- to medium-term contract with private firm for operating services
- Ground lease/facility lease. Long-term lease with private developer who commits to construct, operate and maintain the project
- Availability payment concession. Long-term concession with private developer to construct, operate, maintain and finance the project in exchange for annual payments subject to abatement for nonperformance
- Demand-risk concession. Long-term concession with private developer to construct, operate, maintain and finance the project in exchange for rights to collect revenues related to the project
Pro’s and Con’s of P3’s:
Since their emergence in student housing several years ago, P3s have become important strategies for higher education institutions because of the many benefits they offer, including:
- Lower developer costs
- Developer expertise
- Operational expertise
- Access to capital
- Preservation of debt capacity
- More favorable balance sheets and credit statements
- Risk mitigation
- Faster procurement and project delivery (It can typically take a university about 5 years to get a project built. With a P3, that process can be reduced to just 2 years. Additionally, P3s can save approximately 25% in costs compared to typical projects.)
Beyond the above, the indirect advantages of P3s in student housing are numerous, such as they:
- Provide better housing for students
- Expand campus capacity
- Create high-quality facilities
- Expand the tax base for both a city and county
- Provide an economic boost to surrounding areas, which likely lead to private growth and other improvements
It is important to note that, while there are many benefits of P3s for higher education institutions, these agreements also have disadvantages that need to be considered, including:
- High cost of capital
- Reduced control for the university
- Complexity of deals
- Multi-party roles and responsibilities
- Limitation on future university development
(Source: Student Housing A Hot Sector For Public-Private Partnerships)

A LOOK AHEAD
Where Are We Heading?
- More political involvement and pressure to consider P3
- Pre-development Risks – Many projects failing to close
- Issues with Construction Pricing & Labor Shortages
- An increasing number of developers are getting in the on-campus business; however, developers are being more strategic on which projects/procurements to respond to
- Exploration of other sources of funds like tax credits, USDA, and opportunity zones
- Shared governance continues to grow
- Larger, more complex P3 projects including long term concessions, availability payment models, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
- Bundling of Procurements (food, housing (including faculty), academic buildings, hotel, energy, facility maintenance, etc.)
Further Reading:
- State of the P3 Higher Education Industry by Brailsford & Dunlavey http://programmanagers.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/P3-State-of-the-Industry-Final_Small.pdf
- Should your University enter into a Public/Private Partnership – the Pro’s and Con’s https://edualliancegroup.blog/2017/06/26/should-your-university-enter-into-a-publicprivate-partnership-the-pros-and-cons
- No Free Lunch: The Pros and Cons of Public-Private Partnerships for Infrastructure Financing https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2017/02/09/no-free-lunch-the-pros-and-cons-of-public-private-partnerships-for-infrastructure-financing
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
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