Facility Focus (Learning Studio and Classroom Design)
SUNY Oswego: School of Education
Nationally recognized for its technology education
program, State University of
New York Oswego’s School of Education
gives future instructors the tools they need
to guide tomorrow’s students in managing
the technological innovations of the future.
In short, this is where STEM teachers learn
to teach STEM.
Housed in Wilbur Hall and Park Hall,
the 1930s buildings boasted historical
significance — then-Gov. Franklin D. Roosevelt
laid the cornerstone for Park Hall —
yet lacked the 21st-century technology
and tools required by today’s students.
To bring the buildings up to date,
Stantec’s Berkley, MI, office, in association
with Bergmann Associates, recently
completed a 91,000-square-foot renovation
and 13,500-square-foot addition
that incorporates the specific technology
and learning spaces needed to support
the curriculum, maximize flexibility and
adaptability, and create a sense of community
for the School of Education.
Naturally, the STEM-heavy curriculum
necessitates a variety of unique and highly
specialized learning spaces, so many of the
building’s classroom spaces are a far cry
from traditional. A number of design considerations
went into play to make spaces
like a Transportation Lab; Energy & Power
Lab; Technical Drawings and Engineering
Graphics Lab; Materials Processing Labs
for wood, polymers and metals; and an
Electronics/Mechatronics Lab work in a
building built decades ago.
The design also recognizes that 21stcentury
learning is not confined to a classroom.
A new three-story collaborative connector
offers added space for common-area
seating with access to technology, while acting
as a physical mechanism to connect to buildings,
unifying the program under one roof.
The resulting facility is transformed
into a space that is reflective of the school’s
philosophy and supports the cutting-edge
STEM program.