Colleges and University Buildings: Trends and Changes

by Mark Robins | May 2, 2022 12:00 am

“Metal is a lightweight, malleable and durable material that allows teams to balance performance and aesthetic ambitions with budgetary goals,” says Sean McGreal, principal, ZGF Architects[1], Los Angeles. “Because of the variety of its applications, forms and finishes, metal is visually quite versatile and can be used in a new building to strike continuity in architectural expression across campus.” What follows are college and university building trends and how metal is influencing them.

FROM MASONRY TO METAL

Masonry has been the mainstay material for collegiate buildings for decades, but metal (always an integral campus building material) is being used more and more. “While masonry is still king on higher education campuses, we’ve seen common adoption of metal into campus palettes, both in general use and more formally in published architectural guidelines,” says Randall Daniel, principal, architect at SmithGroup[2], Dallas.

“Metal is often thought of as a very modern material, but it was broadly utilized in the early-to-late 20th century and early 21st centuries when many American college campuses were emerging, so it’s common to find these beautiful metal elements in early campus buildings. While the specific applications and techniques may vary, in many ways, we’re just returning to historical practices.”

John Baxter, AIA, LEED AP, higher education sector leader, senior principal, EYP[3], Washington, D.C., says in the collegiate building market he has seen a notable increase in demand for metal wall systems. “But, most of our projects are flat roofs, so we haven’t seen an increase in metal roofs. Panelized wall systems are big right now, but this really depends on the style of the building we’re designing.”

MORE STUDENTS, MORE BUILDINGS

College enrollment is growing across the country. “More students want to attend, pushing freshmen classes to get larger,” says William L. Coulbourne, PE, owner, Coulbourne Consulting[4], Churchton, Md. Some fear enrollments are growing too fast.

According to a new national study conducted by the Society for College and University Planning (SCUP) called the 2021 Campus Facilities Inventory (CFI)—a revealing survey of 88 higher-education institutions across the country who share data on their buildings— student enrollment is fast outpacing U.S. universities’ ability to accommodate their enrollees in academic and residential facilities.

Baxter explains that because of COVID-19, the higher education building market took a big hit in 2020. “Overall, colleges and universities have seen a decline in enrollment, and there has been a loss of many international students. But we saw much more activity in 2021 as there was pent up demand. So far in 2022, the market continues to be vibrant, but eventually we anticipate the activity to level off. In terms of trends, we have seen an increase in public-private partnership (P3) projects, specifically in the case of innovation centers and university housing. Also, we’re seeing more modernization projects as universities look inward to see how to best optimize their real estate. There’s been growth in markets where there’s a perceived need for student development in terms of doctors, nurses, engineers, cybersecurity experts, etc. We’re also seeing construction of multidisciplinary research facilities with maximum flexibility so that a building can be easily modified for different types of research in the future.”

REMOTE LEARNING

What about the boom in remote learning caused by the pandemic and its effect on higher educations’ buildings? Daniel says that’s a big question that is still being answered. “While the full effects of the prolonged distance learning experiment likely won’t be known for many years, we have already taken away a lot of valuable lessons that we’ve applied to hybrid learning spaces with multiple institutions.”

“The realization that we are people made for community, interaction, hands on, brought the realization we can’t function like this forever,” says Scott Schellhase, AIA, NCARB, APA, LEED AP BD+C, vice president, SLS Partnership Inc[5]., Lubbock, Texas. “Circumstances revealed the need to rethink our classrooms of the future and really all spaces in a university setting. Spaces have become more flexible, more open, technology integration is huge and the ability for adaptability and or readaptability are more present.”

“We don’t know exactly where things are headed because technology has advanced so quickly,” says Rob McClure, AIA, innovation and strategy design principal, senior principal, EYP. “These advancements happened out of necessity, which has been exciting to watch and exciting to participate in their implementation. We do see an increase in hybrid learning, where some students are in the classroom or lab, and some are remote, which when done right can be an amazing thing to witness first-hand. The normalization and acceptance that remote learning can be effective is also exciting because it will undoubtedly lead to education being more accessible both geographically and socioeconomically.”

SUSTAINABILITY

McGreal believes the future of building in any market is building sustainably. “Metal has the right material attributes to allow universities to build sustainably and economically, without compromising architectural integrity.”

“Sustainability is no longer something sprinkled over an existing project; sustainability is not cinnamon!” says Eric Corey Freed, director of sustainability, CannonDesign[6], Portland, Ore. “Our changing world, mounting pressure from students, and a desire to link climate goals with savings is pushing sustainability to be a primary driver of the design of modern campus buildings.”

McClure says colleges and universities are being more aggressive about their sustainability goals. Several of his clients have set clear deadlines to achieve net-zero emissions as well as a further commitment to achieve carbon neutrality. He has witnessed this impact the systems and materials have being used on projects. “Energy modeling and bioclimatic analyses have informed building orientation, massing and enclosure systems that are optimized for energy efficiency. Metal curtainwall systems are playing a huge role in achieving these sustainability goals through the incorporation of exterior metal sunshades that mitigate solar heat gain and façade-mounted photovoltaics that generate electricity.”

Furthermore, McClure explains that natural materials are appealing right now. His clients are encouraging his firm to incorporate natural or biophilic elements in its design responses in hopes of boosting occupants’ health and well-being. At Grinnell College, Grinnell, Iowa, metals played a huge role in achieving this goal. On the exterior a project, exposed copper was used on many primary façades and it was allowed to weather naturally. “The result was the creation of a spectacular back drop for a new central campus destination. Another material used at Grinnell was a wood-look metal ceiling in the main atrium that spans from inside to out. This product is amazing because you get the warmth and richness of wood without having to worry about maintenance and discoloration if it were a natural product.”

COLLEGIATE BUILDING UPGRADING

Many predict the collegiate building upgrading will be prevalent in the near future. “On campuses that have limited new space, upgrading is an option,” Coulbourne says. “Teaching methods, numbers of students per class, student activities both in the classroom and out are all changing, which suggests changes in facilities will also be needed.”

“Schools are realizing the need for highly flexible, convertible and adaptable learning environments,” Freed says. “Buildings are becoming frameworks for collaboration and inspiration.”

Schellhase says during the pandemic, he noticed that many people philanthropically continued to give to local schools, colleges and universities, and much of that was in giving to renovate, remodel and upgrade/update. “Also, I noticed very large contributions to many Texas universities for new construction and facility expansions (especially in the collegiate sports facility area), and facilities that are being planned are quite large, expansive, innovative and forward thinking in terms of looking forward to the future and future needs of the academia student and faculty. Trending is moving into higher quality interior environments and more daylighting being introduced: healthier work and learning spaces. Institutions have realized how important all their spaces and facilities are; neglected areas from the past have been reborn with a new and higher use more than ever.”

Baxter witnesses institutions taking a closer look at their physical assets to determine how to get the best use of them. “We see a lot of universities going back to re-invent their mid-century modern buildings and convert them to new areas for study. There’s much more modernization going on now than there was five or six years ago.”

“Bringing older buildings back to life is a huge trend we are seeing considering our country’s aging building stock,” McClure says. “When considering some of the aspirational goals our clients have set for sustainability, one of the worst things you can do for the environment, particularly when considering the embodied carbon an existing building represents, is tear it down and start building new. So, we’ve been seeing people modernize existing facilities more often.”

Overall, Schellhase believes those in higher education, “Offer incredible insight and vision, from our past into our future. Those in the fields of keeping up with the everchanging and fluid fields of growth and adaptability of facilities, planning, land use are some of today’s visionaries. Buildings are here to stay; they must have purpose, functionality, adaptability and longevity. Steel stands strong, everlasting, true to its character and functions for a lifetime.”

Source URL: https://www.metalarchitecture.com/articles/colleges-and-university-buildings-trends-and-change/

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