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Closing Comments
By Mike Kennedy
American School & University focuses on design and construction of schools, so it stands to reason that we view new education facilities as a positive: Newly built schools are able to incorporate the most up-to-date education trends and design strategies to provide improved teaching and learning environments. They generate excitement and a sense of pride among students and staff.
EDITORIAL
ADVISORY BOARD
Bruce Mather
Executive Director of
Facilities Management Elmhurst College, IL
Martin Montaño
Capital Projects Administrator
Rio Rancho Public Schools
Rio Rancho, NM
James E. Rydeen
FAIA, Armstrong Torseth
Skold and Rydeen, Inc. Minneapolis, MN
In many cases, new schools also are a sign that an area is growing and that community members recognize the value of education by supporting spending on facilities. Billions of dollars are spent each year addressing the need for newly constructed or renovated K-12 and higher education facilities.
While many schools and universities are dealing with the challenges as well as the benefits that come with growth, others are coping with the realities of declining student numbers and half-empty buildings. Instead of excitement over new facilities, constituents are filled with sadness and anger that their beloved schools may be taken from them.
The general trend of declining enrollment in many parts of the country, exacerbated in some cases by students who left public schools because of the Covid-19 pandemic and never returned, has left many school systems without the money needed to keep all of their campuses operating.
Some examples from the last several months: The San Antonio school board voted to close 15 of its schools. The Seattle district is considering a proposal that calls for closing 20 elementary schools. A task force in the Columbus (Ohio) district is looking at shuttering 20 of its campuses. An assessment of facilities in the St. Louis district indicated that about 26 of its 68 schools have fewer than 200 students and a large number would have to close. The San Francisco district has said it will have to close an undetermined number of its more than 100 schools.
Shrinking student numbers also have affected higher education. Several small colleges—Wells College in New York, Notre Dame College in Ohio, Goddard College in Vermont, Birmingham-Southern College in Alabama, to name a few—have been forced to close this year.
For those who have to decide whether to close schools, it’s understandable that they might seek to delay or avoid taking such a step—who wants to be the bad guy delivering such news? But putting off the pain will only make it more painful when the inevitable has to be done.
Showcase your insights, leadership, projects, and more.
American School & University is the publication for thought leaders shaping school and university facilities. The August 2024 Educational Interiors Showcase issue is the guidebook for those planning interior learning environments. Q&A pages are a unique, cost-effective way to show your expertise in this special magazine devoted to the best in educational interiors and facility planning.
Senior Editor Mike Kennedy has written for AS&U on a wide range of educational issues since 1999.
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Four years after it removed Confederacy-linked names from its schools, the Shenandoah County (Virginia) school board has voted to restore the names of military leaders from the Confederacy to two public schools.
NBC News reports that the 5-1 vote reverses a 2020 decision that changed the names of schools linked to Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby, three men who led the pro-slavery Southern states during the Civil War.
Mountain View High School will go back to the name Stonewall Jackson High School. Honey Run Elementary School will go back to the name Ashby-Lee Elementary School. Both schools are in Quicksburg.
A group called the Coalition for Better Schools pe-
titioned the school board to reinstate the names of Jackson, Lee and Ashby. “We believe that revisiting this decision is essential to honor our community’s heritage and respect the wishes of the majority,” the coalition wrote.
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West Texas A&M to provide free textbooks to students
West Texas A&M University in Canyon has reached an agreement with two textbook publishers that will enable the university to provide textbooks and other educational resources free of charge to students.The university says it has bought a campus license from Cengage and McGraw Hill that will provide students digital textbooks and ancillary materials, including digital learning platforms, mobile apps and more.“Depending on a student’s major, they can save $800 per semester or more,”
said Mike Knox, vice president for enrollment services. West Texas A&M has aggressively pursued more open educational resource texts; in the past six years, use of open eductional resources (OER) has risen from 5% to 22% across the university. OER materials are teaching resources that are in the public domain or are released under intellectual property licenses that permit free use, adaptation and redistribution.
https://asumag.com/55055428
4 schools will close in the Plano (Texas) district
The Plano (Texas) school board has voted to close four schools in 2025—two middle and two elementary campuses.
KDFW-TV reports that closing Davis and Forman elementary schools and Carpenter and Armstrong
middle schools will save about $5 million per year in operating costs.
The board voted unanimously to close the schools down before the start of the 2025-26 school year.
A committee of more than 70 parents, district staff and community members recommended earlier this year that Plano should close the four schools.
Board members said declining enrollment was the primary reason for the closures. About a decade ago, Plano had 54,551 students. Now it has just under 48,000.
https://asumag.com/55088994
Oregon district avoids shutdown when bond issue passes
oters in the Gervais (Oregon) district, on the brink of shutting down, have overwhelmingly approved a $28 million bond proposal. KATU-TV reports that about 73% of voters supported the bond proposal. District officials had warned the community that unless voters approved the bond request, they would have to shut down the school system. Since 1997, voters had rejected bond requests nine times. If the bond request had been defeated, the Gervais board indicated it would cease operations. and its territory would have been divided among five surrounding school districts, all of which have significantly higher tax rates than Gervais. Gervais needs the bond funds to carry out critical facility upgrades in its aging school buildings. The district now is in line to receive a $6 million grant
from the state that was contingent upon passing a bond proposal. The district has 870 students from Gervais and nearby unincorporated communities. Another 400 students attend an online charter school the district hosts.
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Gervais School District
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Lincoln (Nebraska) district to install vaping detectors in school bathrooms
After a successful pilot program to curb student vaping in the bathrooms at one high school, the Lincoln (Nebraska) district plans to install detection alarms above bathroom stalls in all of its high schools and middle schools.
KLIN Radio reports that the detection alarms look like a smoke detector but are highly sensitive and have been calibrated to detect nicotine vapors and THC, which is frequently smoked through vape cartridges.
Lincoln’s Student Services Director Ryan Zabawa says a pilot program at Lincoln East High School proved
successful.
“We had 98 alarms in that first week, which obviously is a lot during the school day… and by the end of our pilot, we only had four alarms,” Zabawa said.
Going forward, the district will be installing these detectors in the district’s other high schools and middle schools, using funds it received from a lawsuit settlement with major vaping brand JUUL. Lincoln has eight high schools and 12 middle schools, its website says.
When a student is caught vaping, Zabawa says, parents are notified and vape devices are confiscated.
Mississippi law restricts use of school bathrooms by transgender people
Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves has signed legislation that will prohibit transgender people from using bathrooms that correspond with their gender identities in state public schools.
The Hill reports that the “Securing Areas for Females Effectively and Responsibly Act” requires all public education institutions to have single-sex restrooms, changing areas and dormitories. The legislation defines one’s sex as “‘solely determined by a birth’ without regard to the fluidity of how someone acts or feels.’”
This means individuals will only be allowed to go into spaces that match their sex assigned at birth despite their appearance or any gender-affirming procedures.
The Mississippi law is the latest in a series of bills introduced by conservative lawmakers targeting LGBTQ policies. The American Civil Liberties Union estimates that 515 bills have been introduced across the nation this year.
Mississippi is one of 15 Republican-led states that have sued the federal government over new Title IV regulations that add protections for transgender students.
California enacts law requiring gender-neutral bathrooms in public schools
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a law requiring public schools to have gender-neutral bathrooms available to students.
The Los Angeles Times reports that the law calls for K-12 public schools to have at least one gender-neutral restroom for students by 2026.
The law requires the bathroom to be available during school hours and functions when students are present.
The law will also require the bathrooms to have signs identifying the space as being open to all genders.
The legislation expands a decade-old law that requires K-12 schools to allow students to use the bathroom that aligns with their gender identity.
The bill, which explicitly requires an additional gender-neutral option, sought to counteract an attempt by the Chino Valley Unified District to restrict transgender students’ access to certain bathrooms and sports facilities.
“These measures will help protect vulnerable youth, promote acceptance and create more supportive environments in our schools and communities,” Newsom said.
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High school overhaul on Hilton Head Island
The Beaufort County (South Carolina) district has begun work on a $167 million renovation of Hilton Head Island High School.
WSAV-TV reports that when the upgrades are completed in several years, the school will be almost entirely rebuilt. The majority of the high school’s older classroom facilities, built in 1983, will be replaced with a new threestory classroom wing.
The updated campus will have a new cafeteria, career technology classrooms, renovated spaces dedicated to learning the arts, and renovated physical education and athletic spaces.
The cafeteria will be an open space that also leads into a spacious courtyard that will provide additional social and gathering
Dining hall renovation receives award
The renovation of Mabee Commons at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas, has been honored by the National Association of College & University Food Services.
The university says the dining facility received a Silver Award in the Renovation of the Year category of the Loyal E. Horton Dining Awards. The awards recognize innovative ideas and successful implementation of programs.
areas. The CTE labs will have overhead doors and high ceilings for flexible and adaptable spaces.
The new lobby will be a central hub for the school, reflective of the art, culture, and natural features of Hilton Head Island. The new media center will have ample natural light, open and collaborative spaces, and will connect directly out to a grand courtyard with existing oak trees that have grown with the school for over 40 years.
“This new state-of-the-art campus will support the community’s vision and students’ academic needs for years to come,” said Superintendent Frank Rodriguez.
The architect is Little Diversified Architectural Consulting, and the contractor is M.B. Kahn.
The new Mabee Commons features an open-concept kitchen that leads into an expansive dining area. New state-of-the-art equipment includes a brick oven where specialty pizzas are created using dough proofed in house, and a revamped sauté station with
Middle school makeover
ASan Diego middle school that opened as a junior high more than a century ago is getting a major upgrade.
The modernization project at Roosevelt Middle School began earlier this year. The school will get a new student services and classroom facility, build a new student garden, convert existing offices to classrooms, create a south parking lot with a student drop-off and pick-up area, and enhance school security and sustainability.
enhanced displays and made-to-order personalized dishes.
The breakfast bar also has been expanded, and the dessert section, previously tucked away, is now displayed upfront.
As the main restaurant destination on campus, the Mabee Commons serves not only students, faculty, and staff at Southwestern University, but also the surrounding Georgetown community during the academic year.
The architect is Tipton Associates, and the contractor is SpawGlass.
The existing student services building will be converted to a classroom facility with new furniture and flooring, LED lighting, and modern technology. HVAC systems and the roof will be removed and replaced.
Site security and sustainability will be enhanced throughout the campus. New perimeter fencing, cameras, a public address system, and fire alarm equipment will be added, and solar panels will be installed in a new parking lot.
The campus opened in September 1922 as Roosevelt Junior High School. It’s now an International Baccalaureate school that offers courses in Spanish Language Immersion, world languages, integrated math for high school credit, and community-minded projects for 8th-grade students.
The district estimates that the renovations will be completed in 2026.
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By Paul Erickson
Planning for New Directions in K-12 Music
Research shows that music education helps learners appreciate different cultures and engage in contributing to big ideas. New directions in K-12 music education provide opportunities to design new types of spaces.
When planning music spaces, it is essential to get the best value of square footage and function to maximize learning opportunities. Changes in music preferences, skills opportunities, and workplace requirements affect how spaces should be designed. Plan spaces efficiently—budgets are limited; strive to balance the costs of construction, equipment, instruments, technology, and staffing.
Quantities and sizes of spaces vary. For elementary schools, general music space must be flexible for various pedagogies (e.g., Dalcroze, Kodalay, Orff, Suzuki) and functions. Middle and high schools typically include rehearsal rooms, ensemble/practice rooms, offices, and storage areas. MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) labs, orchestra rooms, and repair space may be included. A large multipurpose performance space with stage and ancillary areas is frequently provided.
The six teaching studios, eight practice rooms, percussion studio, “Sing, Play, Learn with MacPhail®” studio, rehearsal suites, MIDI lab, recital hall, and learning stairs are shared by MacPhail and Austin area students. Education resources such as MacPhail’s Global Music Initiative and Electronic Music Recording Arts programs support this initiative.
Frequently, private studios form K-12 partnerships in music business, production, songwriting, and recording. High school credit-based internships augment programs with guest speakers, hands-on software, and field trips. Local organizations like the Minnesota Comprehensive Arts Planning Program and Minnesota Music Educators Association provide financial and technical support for new directions in music education.
New directions
Paul W. Erickson, AIA/ NCARB/REFP, executive officer and partner, is past president of ATSR Planners/Architects/ Engineers. He has 47 years of experience in school planning, design, and construction. Erickson can be reached at perickson@atsr.com.
The Wenger Corporation Planning Guide for School Music Facilities (Version 4.0, 2022) identifies acoustics, floor plan, technology, storage, and equipment as factors of design effectiveness. For acoustics, room cubic volume, shape, sound isolation, absorption, diffusion and reverberation, mechanical ventilation separations, and technology systems are critical considerations. Regarding layout, provide ample square footage, efficient traffic flow, convenience to adjacent spaces, and teacher supervision capability. Incorporating technology enhances learning through audiovisual systems, record/playback, internet/networks, and simulated performance environment systems. Adequate and secure storage is essential. Finally, equipment must be sturdy, functional, flexible and ergonomic.
Partnerships
Private/public partnerships can expand music education opportunities. For example, through a Hormel Foundation grant, Austin Public Schools in Minnesota and MacPhail Center for Music jointly constructed a music center at Austin High School.
Both traditional ensemble programs and new directions in digital and electronic music education can “share the stage” to prepare students for post-secondary learning, the workplace, and personal development. As K-12 STEAM (ScienceTechnology-Engineering-Arts-Math) expands, the arts programs benefit. Courses in music industry, audio production, studio recording, engineering and mixing are finding their way into career and technical education programs with spaces such as recording studios, MIDI labs, and mixing stations, all enhanced with modern technologies.
Arts magnet and charter schools feature specialty curricula in music and the arts. Examples include Perpich Center for Arts Education in Minnesota, Penn Griffin High School in North Carolina, and High School for Recording Arts in Minnesota. It is essential to prepare students for their next step in learning. Post-secondary facilities are providing facilities for audio and virtual/augmented reality production and exploring integrating music, engineering, and digital technology for engineering students.
New directions in the music industry drive K-12 music education and shape new designs. Architects must engage and push to design spaces that integrate and support new directions, preparing students for the future.
MAKING RETAIL A REALITY
Integrating ground-level retail with student housing.
By Jeffrey M. Smith
Mixing off-campus housing with retail is revolutionizing the student housing landscape. Students value the shopping and dining opportunities, and university administrators are pleased when students do not venture too far from campus and lose touch with the university experience. When properly planned and designed, these developments can be a boon to enrollment.
In recent years, a remarkable transformation has occurred in off-campus student housing as
developers work with colleges and universities to create residential facilities that support recruitment and retention, foster engagement and socialization, and provide a conducive environment for academic success. This trend has given rise to a surge in housing projects that embrace mixed-use concepts, and retail spaces are at the forefront of their design.
With retail spaces adjacent to campus, universities can activate the campus edge and provide a valuable amenity for their students. Students have access to a wide range of dining options and can socialize with their peers without traveling far from campus. The convenience and accessibility greatly enhance student life.
Integrating retail spaces in off-campus housing complements universities’ efforts to create a vibrant campus environment. By expanding the scope of amenities available to students, these developments can be attractive selling points for prospective students and strengthen the university’s commitment to providing a comprehensive living and learning experience.
Auburn University
Covering four acres, 320 West Mag is one of the largest student housing developments adjacent to the campus of Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama. The apartment complex, on the north edge of campus, was designed to create a thriving mix-use community. It has a multilevel fitness center, resort-style pool, coffee shop and tech center.
But what really attracts students to the housing is the Chick-fil-A restaurant on the premises. That the fast-food outlet would be a hit with students was no surprise. Chick-fil-A had operated at the site since 2003. However, its popularity caused traffic problems as cars waiting in the drive-thru would back up onto an adjacent street. The developer acquired the existing restaurant site, assembled adjacent parcels, and set out to create a 4.16-acre, 719-bed community that reincorporated the restaurant into the ground floor along with an additional 7,685 square feet of commercial space.
With Chick-fil-A essentially grandfathered in as a first-floor tenant, the layout had a significant effect on the design of the building. Chick-fil-A’s main concern was to avoid the traffic problems prevalent in the restaurant’s previous iteration. Because the student housing building had access on all four sides, the project team worked to gain access to the restaurant’s drive-thru window from Thomas Street on the west side and a secondary entrance on the east side. These requirements mainly drove the internal housing layout and the location of the parking deck.
The design of 320 West Mag responded specifically to the restaurant’s design requirements. Planners knew precisely how many vehicles the drive-thru would need to accommodate, and the team dedicated most of the west side of the building to the drive-thru to eliminate any probability of traffic jams in all directions. Successfully
The 320 West Mag development, adjacent to Auburn University, provides housing for 719 students and retail space on the ground floor.
Thomas Watkins
A coffee shop at 320 West Mag serves as a hospitality lobby and provides a sense of community for residents. Thomas Watkins
integrating a ground-floor drive-thru presented several challenges. The development team had to accommodate the restaurant’s kitchen, service, trash, and parking requirements and respond to the city’s desire to access the drive-thru via Thomas Street.
Consideration also had to be made for large trucks. The solution was a long, continuous ramp that accommodates two lanes where customers enter on the high side of the site along Thomas Street and gently ramp down to the order kiosks. This enables 27 cars to queue inside the parking deck before ordering.
Environmental and safety concerns related to fumes from idling vehicles in the drive-thru were also addressed. In addition, the design had to address many specific adjacency requirements for these building types, such as the pass-through window being a certain distance from the service door.
With two corners of the development occupied by a Subway restaurant and a university-owned parking lot, the designers set out to vertically connect all the amenities for the residents, including the retail area, into the first two levels of the building. The residential units were built around three separate elevated courtyards. The design provides several access points
to the outdoor courtyards and many units with views of the outdoor amenity areas.
When mixing residential with retail, security and safety must always be at the forefront of all design decisions so that non-resident customers of the retail space do not have access to the private living units. At the same time, the design team wanted to create a sense of community for residents by including common areas where students can gather. A coffee shop serves as a hospitality lobby. The outdoor pool, fitness center, and study areas are at the podium level. The club and fitness spaces look out over a pool, which is 16 feet up and has great views of the university. There are also beautiful, inviting, study areas.
Atlanta amenities
The Standard at Atlanta—a mixed-use development for students attending Georgia Tech and Georgia State—provides another example of how enhancing the ground-floor experience of a university housing development can promote connectivity.
At 19 stories, The Standard has 257 furnished residential units along with 10,783 square feet of commercial space. Included among its many
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amenities is a Starbucks coffee shop with drive-thru lanes.
Often, project designers have to shoehorn retailers into a multilevel building constructed above them. Many of these projects in urban settings have similar challenges with retailers on the project site, so project teams often make them part of the new building as a condition for incorporating their land.
Unlike on-campus sites where retailers rely primarily on student walk-up traffic, these urban projects often require that the building have ground-level retail on the street front facades. When this occurs, project designers are responsible for the retailer’s mechanical and structural issues, such as intake and exhaust. To address city requirements related to active use at street frontages, the project team has additional conditions to consider regarding mechanical system intake and exhaust, as well as servicing, which often need special design solutions to harmonize with the residential program design above.
As the competition for students becomes increasingly competitive, forwardlooking university and development leaders are finding that housing is a critical area for building and retaining enrollment. Schools can enhance socialization and engagement, while keeping students on campus, by providing the amenities
and accommodating the features they value most. Dynamic, pedestrian-friendly communities are essential to expanding a vibrant campus life, and that goal can be achieved by making retail a reality.
Jeffrey M. Smith, AIA, LEED AP, is Vice President with Niles Bolton Associates. He can be reached at jsmith@nilesbolton.com.
The Standard in Atlanta provides housing for students from Georgia State and Georgia Tech as well as retail amenities on the ground floor.
Brian Gassel
A BUILDING FOR NOW AND THE FUTURE
Facilities like Thurgood Marshall Hall at the University of Maryland combine historical inspiration with modern approaches.
by Irena Savakova and Anya Grant
The University of Maryland’s School of Public Policy seeks to make a difference. It prepares future policy leaders for the challenges they will face.
A key part of students’ education is connecting to others, whether they are peers, professors, practitioners or campus visitors. So school leaders wanted its home to offer spaces for all its users to connect, formally and informally.
The 70,000-square-foot Thurgood Marshall Hall, opened in 2022 on the university’s College Park campus, is designed to elevate that discourse. Named
in honor of the first Black justice on the U.S. Supreme Court, the building functions as the nerve center of education and discourse for the public good on campus. It also stands at the heart of a new entrance to campus, serving as a welcoming gateway for students and visitors.
Collaborating with the school to understand its programmatic needs, the design team increased the school’s formal and informal collaboration spaces by 34%, boosted event seating capacity by 72% and facilitated an exponential increase in event capacity through simulcasting capabilities.
Since it has opened, most of the faculty, staff and students have indicated that the new building supports their preferred modes of learning, working and convening. The design elevates connectivity throughout the building. Key strategies that informed the process:
• Marrying historical inspiration with modern technology to create an array of options for connection.
• Rethinking traditional functionality to ensure flexible discussion spaces.
• Creatively blending the outdoors and indoors to maximize engagement.
Thurgood Marshall Hall on the College Park campus of the University of Maryland.
Images courtesy of Ron Blunt
Entry Forms Due: June 14
Portfolios Due: July 26
2024 Call for Entries
Entry Forms Due June 14. Portfolios Due July 26.
• Discounts for multiple projects and multiple pages.
• Open to projects completed since January 1, 2019.
• Entry categories for pre-K through higher-education. New construction, renovation, and work in progress.
• Featured in the fall 2024 Architectural Portfolio issue, full-screen galleries on SchoolDesigns, and our e-newsletter.
• Larger circulation, including expanded reach to school boards and industry event partners.
• National recognition for you, your project, and the school or university.
• Free print-ready PDF for multiple entries and multi-page projects. Contact Heather Buzzard at hbuzzard@endeavorb2b.com or visit SchoolDesigns.com to enter today.
Photo credits: (top row from left to right)
Overcoming limitations
The design process began with an outof-date budget. Funding for the building was based on a decade-old study. The budget fell short by 20% of meeting the university’s needs, but no more funding was available.
Within these constraints, the university still needed an educational facility that could support policy education for a generation of students motivated to not just
study the issues but to solve them. The building needed to support and empower students to engage with faculty, exchange ideas and learn about public policy.
Designers and university stakeholders had to collaborate to reimagine academic spaces and creatively fill programmatic needs within the established budget. What was originally understood as a space deficit evolved into a design challenge and led to the creation of a
The design of Thurgood Marshall Hall marries tested strategies for creating spaces
connective network of multifunctional spaces that provide opportunities for cross-pollination, discourse, and convening.
The democratic ideals of equality, visibility and transparency served as organizing principles that guided the design of every element—from the interior program to the exterior expression.
Modern spaces rooted in antiquity
As long as civilization has existed, people have needed a place to gather. The ancient Greek agora was a public space that served as a meeting ground for all kinds of discourse and connection.
Approaching a building intended to house public discourse and learning, the design team drew inspiration from
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ancient Athens. The spatial typology of the agora presented the exact model that the School of Public Policy needed. The building includes an internal, multi-height, cascading plaza bookended by two main entries. Many brightly lighted overflow spaces—from intimate perches to generous technology-enabled alcoves—enable students and faculty to convene.
The design marries tested strategies for creating spaces conducive to user productivity with technology that meets the demands of today’s sustainability and technology. A highperformance, light-diffusing insulated glazing system on the east and west sides of the building provides precise shading and well-tempered environments. The large lecture hall was designed with generous openings and automated shading so that it can be filled with daylight during normal operation, but also tightly calibrated for large events requiring screen projections or television broadcasting.
A 46-seat classroom modeled on the United Nations deliberative chamber has fixed tables and chairs, precisely laid out to accommodate simultaneous small-group breakouts while also being wired for videoconferencing at every seat with tracking cameras that enable an entire class to connect with other students, speakers and policy leaders from across the world.
The agora-inspired connector segment offers capabilities to connect beyond what the ancient Greeks could have imagined.
This principle can be applied across higher education institutions, on campuses where legacy historic buildings must embrace modern modes of learning and support evolving modes of connection—many technology-enabled. As an example, the Corcoran School of Arts and Design at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., acquired and adapted a historic building. The reuse of this facility enables the space to blend
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A 46-seat classroom modeled on the United Nations deliberative chamber accommodates small-group breakouts while also being wired for videoconferencing at every seat.
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historical elements such as extensive skylights above expansive ornate galleries with intimate classroom and laboratory spaces designed to inspire the next generation of artists and designers.
Rethinking functionality
In lieu of a traditional library at Thurgood Marshall Hall, the design team created a reading room that can be used for quiet study as well as events. The room has multiple configurations with the use of one folding glass partition that defines a small seminar or small-group meeting space on one end of the larger room, and another partition at the opposite end that opens to an outdoor roof terrace. When combined, this suite of indoor and outdoor spaces has become one of the most popular event spaces on campus.
Functionality does not need to come at the expense of people-focused yet visionary design. At the Intelligence Community Campus in Bethesda,
Maryland, a teaching academy for many U.S. agencies that deal with top secret information, the building design does not reflect that secretive focus. The facility has been conceived to look more like a museum integrated into its landscape with outdoor gathering spaces.
Blending indoor and outdoor
The quad is a staple of higher education for a reason. Outdoor spaces and biophilic elements encourage casual conversations and spark creativity. Thurgood Marshall Hall capitalizes on this, enabling visitors to flow between indoor and outdoor, and to experience the outdoors even when inside.
The space includes several courtyard experiences. On the building’s top floor, the reading room and rooftop terrace connect indoor and outdoor spaces, offering panoramic views of the university’s 1,340-acre campus. It also serves as a community meeting space, cementing “town and gown” connections.
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Thurgood Marshall Hall is home to the University of Maryland School of Public Policy’s Do Good Institute.
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Material selections support biophilic design to connect occupants to nature, while reducing the building’s environmental footprint and providing healthful and productive spaces for work and study. Around the building, thoughtfully landscaped areas form pockets for gathering, study and social activity.
Another way to incorporate the outdoors in learning spaces can be seen at the University of California Merced’s Science and Engineering building, completed in the mid-2000s. A green space serves as a connector between two buildings, giving students and others an opportunity to benefit from natural elements.
Key takeaways
Thurgood Marshall Hall has become popular on the University of Maryland campus and in the community. It reflects the university’s dedication to reimagining learning—a commitment deeply woven into its strategic plan. The popularity of the building is proof that a tight budget can still result in a state-of-the-art educational facility that elevates discourse and connects students, staff and community. For years to come, Maryland’s future leaders will be convening in these spaces.
Irena Savakova, RIBA, LEED AP BD+C, is a global design principal at LEO A DALY with more than 30 years of experience developing commercial and educational facilities.
Anya Grant , AIA, is the education market sector leader for LEO A DALY’s Washington, D.C., studio. Her career has encompassed programming, planning and design for higher education facilities, including residence halls and student centers.
Outdoor spaces and biophilic elements at Thurgood Marshall Hall encourage casual conversations and spark creativity.
www.asumag.com www.schooldesigns.com
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Texas school chooses Sloan products
The Forney (Texas) Independent School District’s Keith Bell Opportunity Central, or “The OC,” is a one-of-a-kind school: a career and college center, multipurpose complex, and student-run business hub with fine arts spaces.Forney specified Sloan products for The OC’s 43 restrooms. They enhance the new facility’s overall restroom aesthetic, save water, and make life stress-free for the maintenance team.Reliable performance and durability are critical for schools. The OC specified Sloan ST-2459 Vitreous China Wallmounted Water Closets and SU-1009 Vitreous China Washdown Urinals. The urinals all come with a vandal-resistant stainless-steel strainer. In addition, Sloan EWF-44000 4-Station Wall-mounted Wash Fountain Sinks at The OC are constructed of non-porous SloanStone® solid surface material. These quadruple-station lavatory systems come equipped with Sloan Optima® electronic sensor technology for hands-free operation.Recognizing that durability and sustainability go hand in hand, The OC selected products that help save water. Sloan’s Regal® 111 1.28 gpf Water Closet Flushometers and Regal 186 0.5 gpf Urinal Flushometers offer superior water savings aided by an ADA-compliant, non-hold-open handle, which prevents the fixtures from exceeding the intended flush volume. Sloan’s vitreous china water closets, urinals, and SS-3003 Wall-mounted Backsplash Lavatories all come with SloanTec® Hydrophobic Glaze, a proprietary glaze that inhibits the growth of germs, making products easier to clean and keeping them cleaner longer.
National Glazing Solutions has announced that it is the first dealer in America to purchase, sell, and install the security film 3M S2400. This advanced glazing security solution sets a new standard in safety and protection for a diverse array of commercial and government facilities. 3M S2400 represents a substantial upgrade over traditional polyester security window films. The polyurethanebased construction enables the film to absorb the energy of impacts and achieve greater elongation before tearing (4 times that that of polyester). It creates a barrier of time between a perpetrator and building occupants, and it can withstand severe force before tearing, enhancing protection against break-ins, blasts and natural disasters. The optical clarity of the S2400 series provides unobstructed views and is virtually invisible once applied.
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Bobrick Washroom Equipment’s new automatic top-fill soap dispensers, which have been added to its Fino Collection line, have received a Best of NeoCon 2024 Silver Award in the Interior Products and Solutions/Architectural Products category. The soap dispensers are ADA-compliant and available in two looks—a contemporary cylindrical design and a streamlined, modern design. Each look is available in five finishes – polished chrome, polished graphite, brushed brass, brushed nickel and matte black. The dispensers have an adjustable soap control dial and a hidden sensor that enables touchless operation to reduce cross-contamination. www.bobrick.com
Connected Power addresses energy waste
Honeywell has introduced Connected Power, a solution that helps monitor, manage and automate buildings’ power usage at the plug level. With Connected Power, building managers across North America can autonomously power down unused outlets based on space usage schedules or occupancy data, while also improving safety. The solution’s connected outlets use existing wiring infrastructure and link to a digital dashboard, making it possible for building managers to monitor and control the energy consumption of each power outlet, or an entire area, from one screen with a few clicks. Connected Power can be integrated into most existing building management systems using open standards to provide centralized site scheduling and control.
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Study says nearly half of St. Louis public schools will have to be replaced in the next decade
Nearly half of the 68 public schools in St. Louis are in such poor shape that they will need to be replaced or closed in the next 10 years, an architecture firm has told the school board. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that according to the assessment by Cordogan, Clark and Associates, if all the buildings stay open, the cost of upkeep for St. Louis Public Schools will reach an estimated $1.8 billion by 2044. The district has $28 million in immediate needs for plumbing, electrical, roofing, HVAC and other structural concerns, the firm estimates. The figures do not include the 20 or so vacant school buildings still owned and maintained by the district. The average age of St. Louis school
buildings is close to 90 years old, district leaders estimate. Adams Elementary, built in 1878 in the neighborhood now known as Forest Park Southeast, is the oldest school in the district. The number of students in the St. Louis district has steadily fallen since peaking at 115,543 in 1967. This year, enrollment in kindergarten through high school is 16,542. After decades of declining enrollment, schools are only half-full, on average.
Atlanta district chooses finalist for superintendency
The Atlanta school board has named Bryan Johnson, the executive vice chancellor and chief strategy officer at the University of Tennessee Chattanooga, as the sole finalist for its superintendent’s job.
Fox 5 Atlanta reports that Johnson, who served as superintendent of the Hamilton County (Tennessee) district in Chattanooga from 2017 to 2021, will replace
interim Superintendent Danielle Battle.
While leading Hamilton County schools, Johnson was named the Tennessee Superintendent of the Year by the Tennessee Organization of School Superintendents, was a National Superintendent of the Year finalist, and was listed as a “Superintendent to Watch” by the National School Public Relations Association.
The 50,000-student Atlanta district is Georgia’s sixth-largest school system.
Judge allows lawsuit over religious charter school in Oklahoma to proceed
Ajudge in Oklahoma has ruled that a lawsuit opposing state funding for a religious public charter school will be allowed to proceed. The Oklahoman reports that Judge Richard Ogden said he would allow three of four claims made by the plaintiffs to move forward. Ogden said he’ll hear a motion by the plaintiffs in July for a restraining order to prevent state money from flowing to the St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual Charter School. The school, sponsored by the Catholic Archdiocese of Oklahoma City, would be the nation’s first religious charter school that is publicly funded. The Oklahoma Statewide Virtual Charter School Board drew national attention last year when it voted 3-2 to approve the school’s creation. According to the St. Isidore website, faculty are to report on Aug. 1, and the first day of school is set for Aug. 12. At the center of the lawsuit is whether charter schools are
public or private. Charter schools, as defined on the Oklahoma State Department of Education website, are “public schools that are allowed greater flexibility for greater accountability.” Attorneys for the defense argue, however, that St. Isidore is a private entity and that nothing in Oklahoma law prevents a private entity from operating a charter school.
Duval County (Florida) district picks new superintendent
The Duval County (Florida) district has selected Christopher Bernier to be its next superintendent.
Bernier is expected to take the reins in the Jacksonville-based school district this summer. He will replace Dana Kriznar, who has been interim superintendent since Diana Greene retired as superintendent a year ago.
Duval County is the sixth-largest school system in Florida with about 129,000 students.
Bernier had been superintendent of the Lee County (Florida) district for less than two years when he announced in April that he was stepping down.
Before his stint in Lee County, Bernier served as chief of staff for the Clark County (Nevada) School District and as an associate superintendent in the Orange County (Florida) district.
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