Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Schools In Focus: Rethinking Higher Ed Spaces

  • By Yvonne Marquez
  • 08/12/20

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

  • Miami University Approves New $242M Multipurpose Arena

    Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, recently announced that its Board of Trustees has approved construction of a new multipurpose arena at Cook Field, according to university news. The $242-million project will serve as a new centralized hub for student life and create space for economic development on campus.

  • DFW-Area District Opens New Replacement Middle School

    The Eagle Mountain-Saginaw Independent School District near Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new replacement middle school campus, according to a news release. The new facility for Wayside Middle School, originally established in 1964, was built on the site of the former district administration building and funded through Bond Proposition A in 2023.

  • Photo credit: Elkus Manfredi Architects

    University of Virginia Selects Design-Build Team for New Residential Complex

    The University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., recently announced that it has selected a design-build team for a new upper-class residential development on campus, according to a news release. Capstone Development Partners—in partnership with Elkus Manfredi Architects and the Hoar Construction/Hourigan construction team—will move forward with the three-building, 310,000-square-foot housing facility.

  • Arizona District Breaks Ground on Community Training, Learning Center

    The Tolleson Union High School District (TUHSD) in Tolleson, Ariz., recently broke ground on a new Training & Learning Center (TLC) for both district professionals and the community at large, according to a news release. The 90,000-square-foot facility has an estimated completion date of spring 2027.