Designing for Higher Education: Evaluating the Past to Shape the Future

Our Education Team is continually growing in knowledge and expertise, and we’re seeing several key themes emerging from our partners, current and past projects, industry conferences and ongoing research.  Evaluation of past methods and insights allows us to ground our efforts in future work as we look forward—a bit like crossing the street where one should “look both ways” at both our history and what is yet to come. These insights are shaping our understanding of the ever-evolving education landscape daily.  

Several emerging trends are shaping higher education design, offering valuable insights into the evolving needs and priorities of institutions:

Broader Collaborative Involvement

At the inception of a project, we start by determining how we are going to make decisions. This begins with identifying a stakeholder group and planning effective methods to gather input and experiences from peripheral users. This input will guide the work and our path forward. Using a recent example of campus engagement in student housing, residence life staff play a key role in how the building functions day to day (current state), the security features we incorporate into the layouts, and support for activating the hall’s future residents through programming.  

From there, the larger circle of users and our defined stakeholder group often widens to include neighboring communities, especially if the project affects campus edges, and potentially even leverages community and business partners. Not only are we designing for a college and its inhabitants, but we also are carefully considering the edges of campus and how the impacts are felt in a larger context.  

Planning for Future Generations

Generation Alpha, born 2012-2025, is often cited as the most diverse (both economically and ethnically) generation we’ve ever seen on a college campus. Forecasted to undertake careers of which 65% don’t exist today, we are hard-pressed to pivot not only in the way we gather and plan for their preferences, but also in the way we strategically build flexibility into our spaces. The rise of esports is a good example of a recent program/degree that has evolved out of a new frontier of technical capabilities. Students are engaged online every day, and it has altered how we connect on an interpersonal level, increasing the likelihood of global friendships within this new generation.  

Responsive Design and Materials

Aside from these social evolutions are the ever-growing energy costs and grid infrastructure, forcing new construction to get tighter and more resilient with their exterior envelopes. More and more we are seeing new collaborations and partnerships with architects and contractors providing new, faster, more connected methods for the delivery of projects to the market. While materials are constantly playing catchup in the way they accommodate new certification processes, more and more suppliers are developing the language of certification in building/systems sustainability frameworks. Universities and colleges are supported in their relentless pursuit of giving back to their environments, with sustainability initiatives and opportunities for students to shape their own spaces.

The importance of validating past work is never far from focus, exploring how past findings serve to affirm—or challenge—our design strategies with tangible insights and case studies:  

Embracing Versatility and Agility

As we look backward at the work we’ve accomplished, we know since the pandemic, the definition between primary spaces (where we live) and secondary spaces (where we work) has blurred significantly. There has been a shift toward third spaces, which offer the ability to shape our spaces into what we need them to be. Lobbies and atriums have become study spaces for groups and individuals, and places to gather and socialize. Thanks to technology, cafeterias have become places to do individual work, while in a socially connected space, and while furniture layouts are provided on day one, we know allowing the ability to move, rearrange and mold spaces to various needs is vital to activating these areas continually. Malleable, agile spaces provide invaluable findings into designing to meet students where they are.

Stewardship

We’ve also gained a renewed perspective on “in-between” or peripheral spaces. Giving individuals more of what they ask for, within site constraints is a tough task—but if able to bridge between sites, leverage additional areas, and welcome diverse users, we find compelling reasons for considering unique partnerships. For example, a residence hall in Canada utilizes an adjacent City Park as a natural amenity for its residents. This hall also hosts community events in the summer in its main floor atrium, so the building does not have an “off season” in terms of use. The more we can do with fewer, smaller spaces ensures the fullest utilization of the amenities we create and provides a level of stewardship, care and living adaptation long after the project is certified as complete.  

As our Education Team continues to expand its knowledge and expertise, we remain grounded in the lessons of the past while keeping a keen eye on the future. By evaluating past methods and embracing new insights from our partners, projects, and research, we are better prepared to navigate the ever-evolving educational landscape and shape spaces that meet the needs of tomorrow.

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