As our culture embraces the concept of reuse or recycling in its many forms, it is only appropriate to focus on how some school districts have tapped the creativity of board members, architects, and/or planners to restore, renovate, or rebuild some their
After adding everything from selecting suppliers to automating the process and recovering costs on the invoice side, integrated e-procurement efforts find savings of anywhere between five to 20 cents of every dollar. It adds up to significant dollars on t
Our current economic climate has affected numerous areas in higher education, including libraries. Private donors may be giving less to institutions, and often states have less money to offer to institutions. College and university libraries may find some
It's time we take an honest look at the factors that got us to this point. But in the meantime, we need to stop pointing fingers and start taking action. I had high hopes for the economic stimulus package, but as of this writing I'm not all that
The paradoxical problem of communicating in gymnasiums is that when the message is loud enough to be heard, it's often too loud to be understood. The right design, with appropriate balances of reflective and absorbent materials, could eliminate acoustic p
Areas experiencing declining enrollments are presented with both opportunities and challenges. Declining enrollments permit districts to implement desired program changes that were formerly not possible. Conversely, districts are faced with making the mos
Today, campus quads are definitely spatial beings a "room" that the institutions have deemed important because they face the buildings into that space to form a unity, a statement that shouts, "We are a society of scholars." But
Part of a school's appeal is based on its reputation for providing a safe, secure, and convenient environment for its staff and students. An administrator's attention to fire and life safety systems should enhance the school's status withou
What can schools implement now to already existing facilities that will lower their energy costs and move them toward being green? While few schools in the United States are officially labeled "green" construction, there are many s
Just as colleges and universities are adopting Internet-based technologies for learning so, too, are campus mailrooms responding to changing marketplace conditions by adopting Web-based mailroom processing tools. Here are the stories of two universities&#
Architects, campus facilities practitioners, and campus safety professionals have a new tool to assist them in designing superior campus facilities. 21st Century Security and CPTED Designing for Critical Infrastructure Protection and Crime Preventi
School districts are facing a series of unpleasant and difficult fiscal choices in this current recessionary environment. Given the recent steep spikes in gas and food prices, now is the time for some creative thinking as to how best to manage the preciou
Life is full of choices. The number of those choices, however, can be overwhelming, which is certainly true when it comes to selecting janitorial and maintenance products and supplies. Evaluating everything from cleaning solutions and mops to vacuum clean
Following this month's release of College Planning & Management's 2009 Annual College Construction Report, we talked with Avi Lothan, FAIA, principal at DeStefano Partners, a Chicago-based architecture and design firm, about current and futu
Signed by President Obama Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2009, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) is intended to help with economic recovery. While we continue to receive updates on the ARRA in the form of press releases and through the news abo
The acoustics of performing arts venues, as perceived by audiences and critics, is a confluence of the "natural" (i.e., non-amplified) acoustics of the spaces and the sound systems serving the spaces (to the extent that such systems are employed
2009 heralds the implementation of the much-anticipated evolution of the United States Green Building Council's LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) green building rating system. This overhaul incorporates eight years of user feedback
By the time this issue is in your hand, the nation will have inaugurated its 44th President, Barack Obama. Prior to being sworn into office, he announced that he would implement an economic stimulus package that, among a number of other things, would incl
A school can easily seem like a prison to students, staff, and parents. Improper design, hallway color schemes, poorly designed or implemented access control systems, and even impolite staff can create this resemblance. At the same time, careful planning
In an effort to continue certain traditions, I present the "things I've learned 2008" column. For me, 2008 was quite a robust year in terms of expanding my horizons.
While most campus crimes take the form of forcible sex offenses, robberies, aggravated assaults, burglaries, and motor vehicle thefts, access control can make a campus safer day-to-day, while helping to protect students, faculty, and staff from tragedy.