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

  • TCU Marks Campus Expansion Milestone

    Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, recently held a topping-out ceremony to mark progress on a major campus expansion effort including four new residential facilities and a five-story parking garage, according to a news release.

  • Wold Completes Geothermal Projects at Two Minnesota Schools

    Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has completed two geothermal expansion projects for Mounds View Public Schools in Shoreview, Minn., according to a news release. The work at Highview Middle School and Irondale High School serves the district’s long-term goal of reducing energy costs and dependency on non-renewable fuel sources, as well as improving building performance.

  • Designing for Every Mind

    Learning environments have the power to shape not just what students know, but who they become. When a school is designed with genuine empathy—for the full range of ways students think, sense, and engage with the world—it becomes more than a building. It becomes a catalyst for growth, confidence, and belonging. That is the animating idea behind neurodiverse design, and it is one that is transforming how more architects and designers are thinking about school design.

  • Year-Round Schools Require Year-Round Indoor Air Quality Planning

    While many schools are out for the summer, year-round schools follow a more “balanced” schedule with shorter, more frequent breaks spaced throughout the school year. Even though this offers educational benefits, these facilities have less downtime for building maintenance. This can become an issue when facilities managers overlook the importance of routine HVAC maintenance and air duct cleaning services.