EDUCATION FEATURE BY ELLIOT FELIX, KELLY SANFORD, DAVID HERD, AND STUART BRUMPTON
RESCHOOLED
How college and university campuses will change as a result of COVID-19
H
igher education experienced 10 years of change in about 10 days. Learning moved online. Staff moved to remote work. Research went largely digital. Student life and support services became virtual.This has left colleges and universities questioning how much space will be needed in the future campus, how it will be operated, and how to make our built environment more healthy, sustainable and resilient.
Facilities planners and managers are faced with short- and long-term challenges simultaneously. In the short-term, they are assessing systems and spaces for health, density for social distancing, and new operations such as frequent cleaning and expanded hours. In the long-term, they are taking a fresh look at the balance of spaces on campus. If 30 per cent of our workforce plans to stay remote, what does this mean for our office spaces? If a 300-person course can be taught more effectively in an online module, can we repurpose some of our lecture halls? Are learning and working online the new swing space?
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Planners and managers are working to determine how to get the most value out of their spaces and seeking to strengthen that value. Rather than default to expansion, this also means working with what’s already in the portfolio, monetizing excess space, and putting speculative construction on hold (except projects already funded or in the works, particularly those that are donor-funded). This reflection on how to improve experiences and efficiency together can also be an important part of staving off a campus closing all together. In the U.S., many estimates foresee about a quarter of institutions at risk.
