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BY ELLIOT FELIX, KELLY SANFORD, DAVID HERD, AND STUART BRUMPTON

How college and university campuses will change as a result of COVID-19

Higher 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?

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.

THINKING ABOUT SPACE, SERVICES, STAFFING, AND SYSTEMS TOGETHER

As people return to the campus or workplace, facilities teams will play an important role in developing and maintaining socially vibrant, healthy, and technologically-enabled environments whose performance enables the positive experience for people and resilience for the future.

To play this role, facilities teams will have to monitor and act on both hard and soft data. Hard data will consider air quality, energy/water consumption, space utilization, and people flow. Softer data will include comfort and experience, gathered by taking the pulse of students, faculty, and staff. Using a mixed suite of analytical data and dashboards to make sense of them, facilities teams can make data-driven, evidencebased decisions that empower the institution to maximize both efficiency and experience of their campus assets through real-time insights. From these data come strategic updates, in both the short and longer term, that can be made and continually analyzed and optimized as the environment changes. This need for an agile and responsive approach will allow confidence to grow, adapt, and test future resilience and implications of achieving carbon, water, waste, and other sustainability goals.

COVID-19 increased the adoption of technologies used to monitor, manage, and use spaces: a campus app with push notifications as you approach a closed building, daily temperature checks and symptom reporting, booking a seat in the library, ordering a meal before picking it up, monitoring utilization and occupancy in real-time. Going forward, technology will be more and more of an interface between people and the spaces we inhabit. We’ll all be living a hybrid, “phygital” experience that is part physical and part digital.

HOW WILL CAMPUSES AND THEIR OPERATIONS CHANGE?

Different types of space will be impacted in different ways. Ultimately, space is built around use, and some activities will change more than others. In workplaces, some assigned desks will shift to hot desks,

“College and universities have been defined by their traditions, but their success now depends on their ability to change.”

with more space designed for people to drop in one to two days a week in lieu of permanent desk assignments. Wet-lab researchers are outsourcing components of their experiments to off-site labs while dry labs have transitioned smoothly to remote work. Will this open up more space for wet labs in the long term? Libraries are also expanding virtual access to both services and collections—stack space will be replaced by collaborative hubs and new services. Housing has been de-densified and will likely stay that way, with more singles going forward. Dining is shifting to more pre-ordered or graband-go meals at smaller tables.

Colleges and universities will continue to move functions off campus that don’t need to be there, whether it’s the rarely used library books or back-office administrative functions. Many campuses are looking for ways to better utilize their outdoor spaces, not just for recreation but for meetings, study, and classes as well. With more PPE and pre-packaged meals, more stockpiling, and less sharing of everything from spaces to utensils, campuses will also need to review their storage, distribution, and waste strategies. Operationally, institutions must also

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balance two countervailing forces: their desire to centralize control to better manage assets more efficiently (i.e., centrally-scheduled classrooms) versus their desire to distribute functions that minimize contact and therefore risk (i.e., to create campus “neighbourhoods” with small cafes).

In terms of this “phygital” relationship between people and the built space around them, public health will be the main driver in the short-term This will mean more focus on air quality, which has benefits beyond basic health, including enhancing wellbeing, productivity, and the positive perceptions of the space. Current industry guidance suggests one of the primary ways to minimize transmission of COVID-19 inside a space is an increase in both the ventilation rate and the amount of predominantly clean outside air. Institutions can look to optimize the existing systems along these lines and further increase quality with the addition of HEPA or UV filters. This may be challenging depending on the configuration of the systems. Buildings that are designed around natural ventilation or mixed-mode ventilation will have an advantage here over sealed environments. Over the long term, building design will embrace historic architectural solutions employed before the advent of elevators and air conditioning, such as higher volume spaces, displacement ventilation, more daylight, operable windows, and wide stairs.

In addition to controlling any air-borne transmission, the physical contact that students and staff have with the environment can be minimized, with the added benefit of reduced cleaning costs.

The addition, or upgrade, of occupancy sensors for lighting and AV systems can reduce the need for switches, and card readers can also be linked to automatically opening doors. Data can be used to track and monitor performance of the systems and they can be optimized over time to reflect popular usage and occupancies.

BECOMING MORE ADAPTABLE, EQUITABLE, AND SUSTAINABLE INSTITUTIONS

College and universities have been defined by their traditions, but their success now depends on their ability to change, especially to address structural issues like access, affordability, and equity.

Institutions are becoming more adaptable. Staff are not only working remotely; they are also doing new

things with new technologies and leaner processes that remove layers of approvals.

The near universal adoption of remote-enabled technology has turned skeptics into advocates when it comes to things like providing remote student services, collaborating with colleagues across disciplines and departments through online tools, and even teaching online courses in a more engaging and intimate way. It also includes more outreach and partnerships with companies and communities who can fuel innovation, share space, and create economic opportunity.

A crisis is a terrible thing. It’s also a terrible thing to waste, and so as the initial fog of COVID-19 lifts, colleges and universities can become more adaptable, equitable, and sustainable. | CFM&D

Elliot Felix is founder and CEO of brightspot strategy, a strategy consultancy on a mission to transform the higher education experience by making it more engaging and equitable. Elliot is an accomplished strategist, facilitator, and sense-maker who has helped transform over 90 colleges and universities and is a frequent speaker on reimagining higher education. elliot@brightspotstrategy.com

Kelly Sanford is senior strategist at brightspot strategy. Kelly ignites dialog between college university stakeholders and leaders to co-create practical and innovative strategies for institutions. As an architect-turned-strategist, she believes great design balances a respect for existing context with fresh ideas and rigorous research. kelly@brightspotstrategy.com

David Herd is managing partner of Buro Happold’s California region and has significant experience in high performance building design and sustainable master planning. His collaborative approach and distinct leadership skills have enabled his teams to achieve the highest levels of sustainability with innovative engineering solutions for over 75 higher education projects across the U.S. David.Herd@burohappold.com

Stuart Brumpton is a principal at Buro Happold. He has over 25 years of experience delivering large, multidisciplinary integrated projects, including business schools at Carnegie Mellon University and Arizona State University. He brings international best practice to deliver engineering solutions addressing aesthetics, quality of space, site specific constraints and low carbon technologies. Stuart.Brumpton@BuroHappold.com

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MITIGATING CAPACITY CHANGES

Rethinking the demands of existing operations for greater efficiency.

In March, buildings around Canada transitioned from full to low occupancy in a matter of days. As safety quickly became top priority, business spaces emptied, and habits and routines shifted dramatically. Canadians started spending the majority of their time at home—working, studying, shopping, and even exercising. Now, as organizations consider how to get back to work, there is still significant uncertainty around the ability to physically return to buildings in the way we did pre-pandemic.

In responding to the impacts of COVID-19, facility managers are facing added complexity on how to manage these physical assets. While safety remains the top priority, facility owners and managers must also rethink the demands of existing operations and systems and look for new ways to deal with rapidly fluctuating capacity.

Buildings are huge energy consumers and are responsible for nearly one-third of the world’s energy consumption, so it is critical that we make the most out of the energy they use and find ways to optimize. Along with basic heating, cooling and lighting needs, more and more of our buildings are electrified and digitized. From computers and smart devices to the networks that connect it all, we rely on this technology to make our buildings work.

These two challenges—capacity fluctuations and energy efficiency— go hand-in-hand. Better facility management will ultimately have an impact on achieving greater efficiency and higher levels of energy savings across buildings.

Considering the significant energy demands buildings have, it is easy to see the impact that can be made by implementing smart solutions. The good news is that these technologies already exist today. Energy efficient solutions can help buildings reduce their energy consumption, which can significantly impact the bottom line. In turn, these cost savings can be used to improve a building’s existing features for occupants.

Consider that temperature control can be a huge contributor to energy consumption. New changes in working habits, including regular work from home, means that our traditional patterns of heating and cooling office buildings and other work settings may no longer apply. In Canada, a cold climate means heating systems are turned on for several months of the year, working hard to regulate temperatures. Similarly, buildings tend to keep electrical and storage spaces cool by relying heavily on air-conditioning, even when cool temperatures aren’t required. Real-time sensors can detect current occupancy to set temperature effectively and

can improve on energy efficiency throughout buildings by using stateof-the-art technology to monitor temperature and help maintain a comfortable environment. This technology is relatively easy to install and requires simple maintenance, making it an ideal early step in digitizing building management.

Lighting systems are another area to consider. Like temperature, automated lighting control can be installed throughout buildings to reduce energy usage and provide greater cost savings. These control systems use sensors to respond in real-time to human activity—turning lighting on when motion is detected and dimming or turning lighting off when the space isn’t in use. As time spent in the office becomes more irregular, signaling a move away from the traditional 9 to 5 workday, control systems can optimize lighting, making it more functional and responsive to a building’s occupancy. Installing energy efficient or LED lighting can also offer a longer life span, requiring bulbs to be replaced less often and helping to reduce overhead costs, all while being environmentally conscious.

With more and more buildings operating at a lower occupancy, it’s also worth considering what technologies, appliances or utilities no longer need to be functioning 24/7. If cafeterias or common kitchen areas are closed, consider adjusting fans and freezers and turning off/ unplugging unused appliances to reduce wasted energy in the interim. Additionally, it may help to consider what technologies are no longer in use, such as conference call lines, employee landlines, televisions and more. While these actions may seem small, continuing to power nonoperational technology can serve as a major contributor to building’s total energy usage.

While these examples were relevant before the pandemic, the importance of control, visibility and flexibility has become even more acute as working from home becomes a “New changes in working habits, including regular work from home, means that our traditional patterns of heating and cooling office buildings and other work settings may no longer apply.”

viable, favourable option for many Canadians. The growing trend towards remote work may cause additional fluctuations in the number of occupants in a building at one time and the associated energy needs. The ability to make smart decisions about energy consumption in real time provides a significant advantage.

Over the last six months, we’ve all been reminded just how unpredictable our world can be. As we collectively adapt to our new reality, the importance of being agile and adaptable has never been more important—and buildings are no exception. Facility managers can implement many technologies that exist today to help them prepare for whatever the future holds. Whether our buildings are back to full capacity in a year’s time, or the way we work changes permanently, these actionable steps can improve on energy efficiency and help manage changing capacity. | CFM&D

Hugo Lafontaine is vice-president of Digital Energy at Schneider Electric.

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