Schools In Focus: Rethinking Higher Ed Spaces

Schools In Focus is a Spaces4Learning podcast dedicated to K-12 and higher ed design, planning, and management. Each episode will feature a conversation with industry experts, facility managers, architects, and thought leaders on topics related to educational facilities. Catch up on previous episodes here.

Today's episode is about the challenges higher ed institutions are facing as they reopen.

Schools In Focus, Episode 5: Rethinking Higher Ed Spaces

Schools In Focus Podcast logo and Stu Rothenberger's headshot 

It’s August and the countdown to the start of the fall semester is fast approaching. Colleges and universities across the country have been working hard on their reopening plans, incorporating a mix of online and in-person learning.

I spoke with Stu Rothenberger who leads DLR Group’s Global Higher Education Studio. His team talked to over 85 higher ed institutions and discussed their concerns and questions about reopening in the fall. Stu shared some of their findings with Spaces4Learning and how DLR Group is rethinking higher ed spaces in the process.

“A lot of the issues that came to light really weren’t created by COVID-19, but COVID-19 put a tremendous spotlight on them," Stu says about the issues institutions are encountering.

We discussed flexibility on a campus scale, the need for long-term resiliency plans, tackling equity issues, and creating smaller interaction spaces in a post-COVID19 learning environment.

Where to Listen

Schools In Focus is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, and Stitcher. Subscribe today, or listen below!

About the Author

Yvonne Marquez is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. She can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Wyoming District Breaks Ground on New Elementary School

    Laramie County School District #1 in Cheyenne, Wy., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the upcoming Mountain View Elementary School, according to a news release. The facility has an estimated completion date of summer 2028, and it will have the capacity for 650 students in fifth and sixth grade.

  • Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Barbara Vick Western Branch

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Barbara Vick Western Branch has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

  • Nashville Elementary School Receives LEED Gold Certification

    Goodlettsville Elementary School, part of Metro Nashville Public Schools in Nashville, Tenn., recently achieved LEED Gold Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), according to a news release. The 81,750-square-foot school opened in 2023 and was designed by Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC).

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.