Drury University

Outdoor Classrooms

  • 11/01/13
Drury

PHOTOS COURTESY OF DRURY UNIVERSITY

Drury University in Springfield, MO, has appeared on The Princeton Review’s Green College Guide four years in a row, and the university prioritizes outdoor learning spaces. In 2011, two campus buildings — Belle Hall and Turner Hall — were dismantled and Drury’s sustainability council collaborated with Drury students, staff, faculty and alumni to decide what to do with the space. The result was the Kellogg Green Space, a multi-use area for recreation, gardens, outdoor classrooms and more.

When then-president Todd Parnell’s father passed away, well-wishers gave donations to the green space in lieu of flowers, and this helped fund the outdoor classroom that now exists in the space. The design for the classroom utilized recycled parapet stones from Belle Hall and limestone cores from the newly constructed O’Reilly Family Event Center.

“The parapet stones link us to our Drury past on that site, and the chunks of limestone connect us to the substrate of our Ozarks hills and Karst geology — two things the Parnell family loves: Drury and the Ozarks,” says Director of Campus Sustainability Dr. Wendy Anderson.

Perhaps the most visible outdoor classroom on campus is located centrally in Burnham Circle. Classes often meet here in the spring, summer and fall. Drury architecture alumnus Jody Sarkodee-Adoo ’04 designed the classroom.

A smaller study space tucked between two buildings on the west side of campus, the Philosopher’s Table provides a quieter place for contemplation and reflection. Legend has it that if a student studies for an exam here, that student is sure to pass.

This article originally appeared in the College Planning & Management November 2013 issue of Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • The Role of Unified Communications in Hyflex Education

    Academic technology and pedagogy have evolved in ways few could have imagined a decade ago. Today, hybrid/flexible (or hyflex) learning environments — a mix of in-person and remote instruction — are the new normal. However, as promising as it sounds, making hyflex work smoothly is no small feat.

  • Key Considerations for Office-to-Higher-Education Facility Conversions

    Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, office-to-alternative-use conversions have become a recurring subject of urban development discourse. Office utilization rates across major U.S. cities remain below 50%, with vacancy rates exceeding 27% in San Francisco and 16% in New York. Higher education facilities present programmatic and spatial use cases that align readily with the typical characteristics of commercial office buildings.

  • Kimball International Launches New Furniture for K–12 Classrooms

    Commercial furnishings company Kimball International recently announced the launch of four new products designed for a variety of professional environments, including K–12 schools, according to a news release.

  • Austin International School Library Renovation

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. The Austin International School has been recognized with an EDS 2025 Grand Prize award in the category of Renovation.

Digital Edition