• Gordian’s 13th annual��State of Facilities in Higher Education��report puts the deferred capital renewal backlog at��$156 per gross square foot, up��8%��over the past year.����

• The report says capital investment funding for existing buildings is��73.5%��of��what’s��needed to prevent further backlog growth, with operating budgets��18.5%��below target.����

• Staffing pressure is also rising: the report says custodial coverage responsibilities are up��27% since 2007, with public institutions seeing steeper increases than private institutions.����

• Gordian points to strategic reinvestment,��benchmarking��and proactive maintenance as levers to stabilize backlogs and support long-term planning.����

GREENVILLE, S.C. —��Deferred capital renewal needs at North American colleges and universities climbed to��$156 per gross square foot, an��8%��year-over-year increase, according to Gordian’s latest��State of Facilities in Higher Education��report.����

The��Greenville, S.C.-headquartered company��said the data underscores continued underinvestment in existing buildings and warned that, without meaningful reinvestment, deferred needs are likely to continue rising.����

Gordian’s 13th annual report frames the sector’s growing backlog as the result of persistent funding gaps colliding with institutional change. The company said capital investment funding for existing buildings is at��73.5%��of what is��required��to keep deferred needs from expanding, and that operating budgets��remain��18.5%��below target levels.����

“This year’s findings reinforce what we hear daily from leaders across the higher education sector: without sustained and strategic reinvestment, institutions risk deeper operational challenges,” said Arul Elumalai,��President of Gordian, in a statement. “Our goal with this report is to equip campus decision-makers with the clear, data-driven insights they need to prioritize the right actions now.”����

Gordian said the analysis draws on its database of��43,000 campus buildings��representing��1.1 billion gross square feet��of space, which it uses to benchmark facilities conditions and spending patterns across North American higher education.����

Alongside capital constraints, the report also points to workforce strain. Gordian said the amount of space each custodian��is responsible for��has increased��27% since 2007, with larger jumps reported at public institutions compared with private ones.����

The report’s findings also highlight how structural underinvestment and rising deferred maintenance can restrict campus flexibility and push institutions toward reactive—often costlier—facility management, Gordian said. As a path forward, the company said campuses can use data-driven benchmarking, proactive maintenance��practices��and strategic reinvestment to help stabilize backlog growth and support long-term decision-making.����

“While campuses face continued pressure, there is genuine opportunity ahead,” said Pete Zuraw,��Vice��President of��Market��Strategy and��Development for Gordian, in a statement. “With reliable data and guidance from trusted industry partners, institutional leaders can make informed decisions that strengthen their facilities and position them for long-term resilience.”��

Gordian said it has published the report for more than a decade and collaborates with higher education societies including APPA, NACUBO and SCUP, adding that the report includes survey data and commentary from higher education leaders.����

This article is based on reporting originally published by Gordian on��April 8, 2026.��

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By Ryan Jang and Cecily Ng��

The reimagined Creekside Center at UC Berkeley��represents��a fundamental shift in how accessibility, sustainability, and historic preservation can coexist within the academic built environment. Located in the campus’ classical core, the project transformed the former��Dwinelle��Hall Annex — a deteriorating, barrier-laden structure — into an inclusive, high-performance home for the university’s Disabled Students’ Program (DSP). Rather than treating accessibility as a compliance exercise, the design team approached the renovation as an opportunity to��demonstrate��how universal design can enhance comfort, resilience, and agency for all building users.����

Shaped by an extensive programming process that included feedback from students, staff, and campus stakeholders, the project is rooted in DSP’s belief that “an accessible environment universally benefits everyone.”��More than��4,000 students visit the��building regularly to receive services such as proctoring, alternative��media��and interpreting.����

A Historic Building with Modern Barriers��

The two-story building is nestled in the mature trees north of Strawberry Creek.��Originally��designed��by John Galen Howard in 1920��in the First Bay Tradition,��there were��additions in 1924 by Howard and 1949 by Michael Goodman.��When��the��project began in 2021,��many features attributing��the building��to the First Bay Tradition��were present��but��in a state of disrepair. A non-code compliant ramp linked three of the lower elevations while the upper floors were disconnected��and��only��reachable��by��stairs.��The exterior suffered from water intrusion, rot, and pest damage.��The existing��steam��heating system was served by��the campus central plant��in a highly inefficient manner. There was no mechanical ventilation or air filtration system.����

Restoring Character While Improving Performance��

The building’s exterior was carefully rehabilitated, with its historic character��retained��and repaired, when possible. New��cladding��replicates��the original redwood board and batten siding. The��low-pitched gabled roof eaves and fascias��were restored. The��spearmint-colored��windows with divided��lites��were replaced with high performance windows of��the same size��and appearance. “High performance”��could��not just address environmental qualities.��Window models��were��also��evaluated for��accessibility��features��such as operating force and the height of locking and lifting mechanisms.����

Other envelope-tightening measures included adding weather barriers and insulation to the exterior walls,��roof��and floors. The project installed all-electric mechanical systems.��Through this��deep-energy��retrofit,��actual energy��use��in the six months of full occupancy has been 84% below baseline. The embodied carbon intensity is 63% lower than the median new-construction educational building.��

A Ramp as the Building’s Circulation Spine��

The one major exterior addition is a new ramp that connects the five existing floor elevations. As the��single��circulation��spine, the ramp��facilitates��equitable��access throughout the building. Large expanses of glazing along the ramp��allows��views clear across the building from the campus to the creek. Exposed structural wood posts��supporting the ramp��create a unifying cadence and a place for handrail brackets. By expressing the ramp slope on the exterior with��a��contemporary��fiber cement panel façade, the ramp��becomes��a beacon that communicates universal access.��

Universal Design Beyond Code Requirements��

Universal Design strategies exceed code��accessibility��requirements and include color and form-based wayfinding and biophilia rich interiors.��The restored��existing��wood��roof trusses were exposed��as an interior finish material��and��influenced the��remainder��of the interior material palette. Wood is used in high touch places such as windows, handrails, and wall end caps. The wood provided textural and color contrast, both of which help make spaces more accessible, without overwhelming the senses.����

Preserving the existing floor to floor height significantly limited the space for mechanical equipment. By selectively lowering the ceiling at��the��threshold��between��circulation��and��program spaces, the team created room for the equipment and provided an area for an individual to decompress before deciding how to engage with the space ahead.��The floor material��and wall��color differ from the adjacent spaces and are only used��in��the thresholds. The color, texture, and difference in light quality��in the threshold spaces signifies��to someone with low vision they were about to enter a new type of space.��

Designing for Choice, Agency, and Comfort��

The thresholds��offer��individual��choice,��a theme��also��integrated��elsewhere. Each��office��has an independently controlled��thermostat,��and��every��regularly occupied space has at��least one operable window��to��provide individual��choice in the quality and temperature of airflow. Solar shades and dimmer switches for all overhead lights��allow occupants to control the quality of light.��Individualized controls are often missing from today’s workspaces, but these features��are��easy to integrate and go a long way to make occupants feel welcome.����

To guide the project beyond minimum code accessibility, the team devised a list of��eight��“Impact Areas” that connect access needs to design features rather than assigning features to specific disabilities. The Impact Areas included��needs��such as community building and privacy, cognitive access, and sensory zoning.��The Impact Areas��offered��a framework to address “dueling disabilities,” where��people have drastically different environmental needs,��and��ultimately��helped��the team��provide agency and enhance feelings of safety and security��in the building.��Creekside Center provides a much-needed home for a community that has��historically marginalized from the design of the built environment.��

Ryan Jang,��AIA, LEED AP, is a Principal and Cecily Ng, AIA, is an Associate��with��Leddy Maytum Stacy Architects.��

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What You Need to Know

• Texas State Technical College opened its new Construction Technologies Center to students Feb. 2 at its Waco campus.��

• The facility��consolidates��multiple construction-trades programs that previously��operated��in separate campus buildings.��

• TSTC and contractor materials describe labs and hands-on training space for building construction, electrical, HVAC, plumbing/pipefitting and solar.��

• A ribbon-cutting ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, March 26, according to TSTC.��

Learn More��

WACO, Texas��—�� On��Feb. 2, Texas State Technical College (TSTC) opened a new Construction Technologies Center to students at its Waco campus, bringing several construction-trades programs under one roof.��

The opening marks a milestone for the campus’ multi-trade expansion project, which TSTC leaders and students say is designed to support hands-on learning and collaboration across disciplines.��

The��120,000-square-foot, two-floor structure housing Building Construction, Electrical Construction, HVAC, Plumbing and Pipefitting and Solar Energy programs.��

“It feels good,” TSTC senior construction project manager Michael Schumacher said, in��. “It is nice to see students here, sitting on the furniture and hanging out in the labs.”��

Students interviewed by TSTC pointed to larger labs and upgraded learning spaces. “I love everything about it,” Plumbing and Pipefitting student Zachary Miller said, according to��. “Everything is bigger, better and there is more of it.”��

TSTC’s earlier project update said the center was planned to open in time for spring 2026 semester classes and would support program growth. The May 2025 report also highlighted features such as backlighting, glassed-in labs and a shaded outdoor work area, plus student lounge areas,��offices��and meeting space.��

“My favorite thing about the building is that its design, while serving as a beautiful showcase for TSTC, also allows our students in the construction trades to see how it is put together,” Schumacher��added in��.��

Built by��Rogers-O’Brien Construction, the new building includes��tiltwall��panels, structural��steel��and glazing systems.��Inside��students can take advantage of new��gathering spaces,��offices��and labs,��while outside the project added��surface parking and pedestrian pathways, according to��.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by Texas State Technical College on Feb. 2, 2026, and May 30, 2025, and project information published by Rogers-O’Brien Construction Company.��

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What You Need to Know:

• University of Texas (UT) San Antonio is advancing five facility projects across its main campus and downtown footprint in 2026.��

• The investments include new student housing, a refreshed museum space, expanded downtown academic and business-support locations, and a major new academic building.��

• The largest project highlighted is San Pedro II, a $130 million, 180,000-square-foot building tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2026.��

• A new $35 million athletics training center is also expected to be completed this fall, with $5 million contributions from both Bexar County and the City of San Antonio.��

Read More:

SAN ANTONIO — UT San Antonio is heading into 2026 with a wave of facility investment that adds housing, expands downtown academic and business-support space, and upgrades athletics infrastructure. Five projects — some already in use, others nearing completion — highlight where the university is putting construction dollars to work.��

Blanco Hall (Main Campus residence hall)��

Blanco Hall��is welcoming��its first students and��expanding��on-campus housing for first-year students and sophomores. The 155,000-square-foot residence hall at Barshop Boulevard and Tobin Avenue adds capacity for��nearly 600��students and includes communal areas for study and collaborative learning. A dedicated kitchen space is also planned to support dietetics instruction as a shared nutrition research and practice lab.��

Institute of Texan Cultures (Frost Tower relocation and refresh)��

The Institute of Texan Cultures will reopen in its new home at Frost Tower, 111 W. Houston St., on Thursday, Jan. 29. UT San Antonio staff worked with design and museum partners to “reimagine,” according to��, the museum for a more modern, interactive experience in its new setting.��

The reopening will feature the main gallery exhibition, “Common Threads,” organized around four themes: home and family life; heritage and traditions; arts and culture; and community.��

One Riverwalk Place (downtown footprint expansion)��

One Riverwalk Place is becoming a larger hub for UT San Antonio in the city’s urban core. After Spring Break, the Valdez Institute for Economic Development plans to move its��operations there, shifting business advising and training services closer to the downtown business community.��

In fall 2025, the building also became home to the��Klesse��College of Engineering and Integrated Design’s School of Architecture and Planning.��

San Pedro II (new $130 million academic building)��

San Pedro II is tentatively scheduled to open in spring 2026,��nearly two-and-a-half��years after its groundbreaking. The $130 million, 180,000-square-foot building on Dolorosa Street sits across from San Pedro I along the San Pedro Creek Culture Park and is planned as a business- and innovation-oriented facility.��

UT San Antonio says the building will expand immersive experiential learning and professional development opportunities and support training for careers in fields such as cybersecurity, AI, computing and data sciences. Alongside San Pedro I — home to the College of AI, Cyber and Computing and the National Security Collaboration Center — the new facility is intended to strengthen the university’s role in the city’s high-tech corridor and contribute to broader investment in the San Pedro Creek area.��

Training Center (new $35 million athletics facility)��

On the main campus, a new two-story, $35 million training center is expected to be completed this fall next to the Roadrunner Athletics Center of Excellence. The 53,000-square-foot facility will support daily operations for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball, while games continue at the Convocation Center.��

Plans include two full-sized NCAA practice courts and program-dedicated support areas such as locker rooms, lounges, training and hydrotherapy space, meeting��rooms��and coaches’ offices. The project is backed by Bexar County and the City of San Antonio, which each invested $5 million.��

This article is based on reporting originally published by UT San Antonio Today on Jan. 5, 2026.����

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By Neall Digert, Ph.D., MIES ��

Developing athletic facilities in dense, urban environments can present a unique set of challenges. While these types of projects are often constrained by surrounding development and environmental barriers, design teams are still expected to deliver safe, high-performance spaces that support rigorous activities. At the same time, designs must anticipate the realities of climate change by embedding resilience and sustainability at every level.��

Columbia University’s Philip & Cheryl Milstein Family Tennis Center stands as a model of resilient design, demonstrating how to successfully overcome these challenges. Perched on the northern tip of Manhattan between the Hudson and Harlem Rivers, the state-of-the-art facility employs a vertical building strategy, advanced daylighting solutions and flood-resilient design concepts to create one of the most forward-thinking collegiate athletic centers in the country.����

This project also reflects broader industry trends: . With showing that 88% of metropolitan areas gained population between 2023 and 2024, and the projecting increasingly severe storms from climate change, the importance of space-conscious, adaptive design will only continue to rise.��

Meeting the Urban Challenge��

When Perkins&Will set out to design the Milstein Family Tennis Center, the firm faced the dual challenge of replacing an aging structure within Columbia University’s Baker Athletics Complex while also reflecting the institution’s commitment to resilient, high-performance design. Given the site’s proximity to two major waterways in one of the nation’s most densely populated areas, the project required a facility that met NCAA standards with six indoor and six outdoor courts, plus training areas, locker rooms and social spaces.��

Adding to the complexity, the building had to maintain strong visual and physical connections to the surrounding park and waterfront, despite the site’s vulnerability to flooding.��

“The motto for this project was fitness for all, and our team needed to create both a functional athletic facility and a community space within a constrained footprint, on land that has narrowly escaped severe flooding in the past and faces ongoing risk in the future,” said Stephen Sefton, Design Director, Principal, Perkins&Will.��

Building Up, Not Out��

To surmount the site’s restrictions, the design team implemented a vertical building strategy: elevating six indoor courts above the 100-year floodplain surrounded by resilient support areas with six more courts stacked above on the roof, with six more on the roof. This tiered design supported spatial and functional needs without compromising the surrounding landscape.������

By building vertically, Perkins&Will was able to incorporate social gathering areas and training amenities while also creating opportunities for more strategic integration of daylighting features and view corridors.��

Harnessing Natural Daylight��

Daylighting was a central design driver for the Milstein Family Tennis Center. To enhance visibility, comfort and energy efficiency, the design team specified Kingspan Light + Air’s with Verti-Lite grid pattern and integrated windows for the indoor courts. The translucent panels allow for abundant, diffused natural daylight while minimizing glare and thermal hotspots, key factors in .����

“Natural daylight was essential for this project, not only to reduce reliance on electric lighting, but to create an environment where athletes can perform at their best,” Sefton continued. “The UniGrid system gave us the ability to balance soft, even daylight with clear sightlines, ensuring the space feels bright, comfortable and connected to its surroundings.”��

Research continues to validate these benefits. from the Lighting Research Center demonstrate that exposure to daylight influences serotonin levels and alertness, helping reduce fatigue and sharpen cognitive performance, critical in high-intensity environments such as athletic training and competition. Similarly, a peer-reviewed published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine found that workers with greater exposure to daylight reported higher vitality, better sleep quality and longer rest duration than those in windowless spaces. In athletic facilities, these findings reinforce the role of daylighting as a performance strategy, supporting sharper concentration, faster reaction times and improved overall well-being.��

Framed windows integrated into the translucent wall system build on this approach by introducing curated views of the Hudson and Harlem rivers. The façade’s vertical rhythm of metal fins and white cladding references Manhattan’s maritime and industrial heritage while delivering a clean, contemporary aesthetic.��

Read the full article, including more on designing for resilience and efficiency, in the .

Neall Digert, Ph.D., MIES, is Vice President, Innovation and Market Development, for Kingspan Light + Air North America.��

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by Mark A. Sullivan, AIA, LEED AP��

Colleges and universities are used to making hard choices when it comes to campus structures and facilities, but those decisions seem increasingly fraught, thanks primarily to the unpredictability of market forces. Where previously the choice might have been between building a splashy new athletic center or creating an amenity-rich technology hub, now administrators and trustees are frequently deciding to put new construction projects on hold, owing to construction cost escalations and, for some, reductions in annual budgets for capital investment. Instead, more of today’s funding is being directed toward strategic renovations of existing buildings, either to enhance current functions or adapt spaces to new uses.����

This trend started a couple years ago and has accelerated since, according to , with experts noting a rebound in investment in existing campus assets over the past several years. As an example, higher education institutions in 2023 saw a 26% increase in this type of investment over the previous year. Until these schools see the economy stabilize and become more predictable, this trend is sure to continue, with larger, more expensive projects on hold at least temporarily.����

This is a good thing, arguably. While universities typically lean on big projects as a way to stay competitive for recruitment, existing facilities often languish, sometimes not even receiving necessary maintenance, much less updates. Yet, campus staff, faculty and students interact with these buildings daily, making them critical assets for school performance and student experience. Typically, these structures and spaces require only modest funds and some imagination to realize their value and capture their full potential, and often they are just as visible as the new amenities and offerings universities often want to build and show off. This current era of campus renovations is encouraging high-value, sustainable investment that breathes new life into some forgotten treasures.����

Doing More with Less��

These days campus planners and facilities directors are looking to architects for help identifying opportunities for value-driven projects. The goal is to generate plans for upgrading or adapting an existing asset in whatever way delivers optimally enhanced per-square-foot value, while expending few precious resources. That value may come from improving basic functionality, extending building use life, or adapting to realize new uses. In many cases, renovation and adaptive reuse deliver the biggest bang for the institution’s buck, especially when the facilities are likely to be viewed by prospective applicants, or are regularly trafficked by current enrollees.����

Our architecture firm, based in Princeton, New Jersey, has been involved in a lot of campus renovations lately, and our discussions with facilities leaders suggest there are more on the horizon. The main factor in this market has been a significant hold on capital investment, but there are other factors at play. For example, one historic university here had been aggressively building new projects for years based on annual capital budgets in the billions of dollars, and now reports show that amount for 2025 and 2026 is likely closer to $500 million –- still ample in scale, but a notable cutback nonetheless and prohibitive for most large-scale new construction.��

Yet capital improvements on- and off-campus continue apace. Most recently we administered major upgrades to a row of historic townhomes used for faculty and graduate student housing within walking distance from campus. The project included complete interior refreshes and modernization, including kitchen and bath redesigns with new furnishings, fixtures, lighting and appliances throughout. The upgrades to these Tudor Revival-style lodgings are expected to improve the university’s ability to recruit talented professors and researchers.��

Read the full article, including how to ensure high impact with low cost and address challenges with older buildings, in the ��

Mark A. Sullivan, AIA, LEED AP, is a partner with JZA+D, an integrated architecture and interior design firm that has completed dozens of educational projects across the Northeastern United States.��

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By Amber Emery

School construction, whether it is for a K-12 school district or higher education institution, is a complex undertaking — particularly when it occurs on existing, occupied campuses. Challenges may be endless, with projects that can include a combination of structural upgrades, seismic retrofit, mechanical-engineering-plumbing-fire (MEP-F) enhancements, safety-related issues and more. Budgets and schedules, however, are not.

Modernization is frequently considered a more effective choice for upgrading outdated facilities. But is it truly? Before embarking on any kind of project, it is important to weigh the various options and their implications. This will help determine if a renovations-oriented approach is the most efficient solution to achieve programmatic aspirations and budget and schedule goals.

Experience indicates, more often than not, that a better approach is identified once a project is already well underway. When this occurs, districts can be faced with seriously compromising decisions that not only may exceed anticipated budgets and schedules but also add undue stress. It is for this reason that best practice calls for collaboration amongst all project stakeholders as early in the design phase as possible. Doing so will add optimal value and lasting impact to any school construction project, which is particularly important for structures devoted to educating today’s students.

“Early teaming and coordination, regardless of the delivery method selected, is a sure-fire way to put a project on a path to success,” said Aaron Jobson, Principal, CEO and President at Quattrocchi Kwok Architects. “There are always going to be unforeseen issues, but articulating objectives, identifying potential challenges and exploring all avenues together is a pre-emptive secret to a seamless project experience.”

Case Study Insights: Sunnyvale Middle School

A highly successful project that showcases the benefits of early, full-team collaboration is Blach Construction’s (Blach) Sunnyvale Middle School (SMS) campus renovation in Sunnyvale, Calif. Initially, the Sunnyvale School District (SSD) Master Plan called for the modernization of several buildings on the severely outdated campus. Because Blach was brought in early — at the schematic design phase — the collective project team, with the district’s blessing, was able to “pause” strategically, taking time upfront to evaluate all construction options, cooperatively and holistically.

During this time, the team was able to:

• Fully engage stakeholders, securing valuable and impactful input — and subsequent buy-in — from both school administrators and community user groups
• Review structural upgrade and other code requirements
• Complete thorough cost analyses and gather early estimates
• Devise comprehensive, efficient phasing and logistics plans
• Collectively reset priorities
• Appropriately reallocate funds

By investing in these efforts upfront, SSD was able to modify its master plan in a cohesive, timely manner, enabling critical changes that delivered optimal value to programmatic needs and SMS campus enhancements. Modernization remained a cost-effective solution for the structures that made the most sense, namely the SMS gymnasium and multi-use space due to their size and scale. New construction, previously at a minimum, became a more viable option and was incorporated more widely.

Along with a new standalone sixth grade classroom wing that uses a prefabricated Folia (an adaptable, prefabricated classroom building solution that blends modular and site-built construction) design to match the recently completed new seventh and eighth grade Folia village, the team was able to include a new administration building and create a more welcoming campus entry. Furthermore, updated plans enabled all-new locker rooms, efficiently combining both girls’ and boys’ facilities in a central location.

The outcome exceeded the district’s and school officials’ expectations. Pivoting to new construction provided a faster delivery schedule than the originally scheduled modernization scope with minimal cost impacts, as well as significant enhancements to overall campus layout and flow. More importantly, each of the new buildings will provide high performing spaces where SMS students will learn and flourish for years to come.

Read the full article and see more project photos in the Planning and Construction issue of ���سԹ�.

Amber Emery, a ���سԹ� Editorial Advisory Board member, is a project executive at Blach Construction, which is headquartered in San Jose with offices in Monterey and Los Angeles.

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By Megan Marsh

As education methods and types of spaces evolve, CO Architects is continually exploring emerging trends shaping the future of interiors in higher education. Our challenge as architects and interior designers is to create university environments that foster community, places that support collaboration, encourage interactions among people with varying points of view and forge human bonds. These key trends are important design elements shaping the future of higher education.

1. Flexibility

In an era where everyone must do more with less, flexible design solutions ensure that universities utilize spaces to their full potential. Flexible spaces and furniture that adapt to the future of education are a growing trend. Clients are also increasingly requesting agile spaces that are equipped to respond to various technologies and experiential needs. Many of our projects include movable partitions that allow classrooms to expand as well as large gathering areas that can be reconfigured to host various event types and group sizes, such as lectures, graduation ceremonies and TED Talks.

Designers are now combining business, education, and leisure in blended-use spaces instead of programming them separately for work or gathering. Co-mingling increases occupancy through varying uses throughout the day. Movable, versatile furniture is a vital aspect of space flexibility. Foldable and stackable furniture with integrated storage allows for quick reconfiguration for different activities.

2. Tech-Enabled Spaces

A corollary of flexible design is integrating current technology into campuses for both new buildings and modernizations of older ones to ensure longevity and relevancy. Examples include integrating Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) to enrich students’ campus and education experiences. The evolution of higher education design to focus on technology-driven learning environments as technology-enhanced spaces like AR and VR labs help make complex concepts easier to understand.

Other features routinely included are interactive smartboards, video-conferencing tools and other collaborative software as well as podcast rooms and recording studios for professors to professionally record lectures for hybrid learning, meeting current teaching needs but also accelerating new teaching methodologies.

3. Neurodiversity

Recognizing that students learn in a wide variety of ways, universities are becoming more accommodating to a range of cognitive and sensory preferences. Designs ensure that a choice of sensory environments is provided, in order to cater to diverse learning styles and needs. This can include a variety of study, learning and meeting environments, providing dimmable lighting and a range of color palettes. Collaboration areas vary from brighter rooms with plenty of natural light, to darker rooms with soft lighting as well as a range of visual and acoustical privacy elements. A mix of furniture types adds additional choices, allowing students to choose based on how they’re feeling at any given time.

4. Community-Fostering

The overall square footage in the education sector has remained relatively stable. However, space allocation has shifted toward slightly smaller private offices for faculty and an increase in flexible, shared workspaces or hybrid work models for faculty and staff.

This decrease in private workspaces is offset by a significant increase in public and community-life spaces, such as larger common areas, student lounges, collaboration zones and wellness facilities. Spaces that prioritize social interaction, support student well-being, and enhance campus life reflect a shift toward more communal, multi-functional environments within educational buildings.

5. Local Outreach

Higher education design increasingly considers and embraces the neighboring community. Multi-modal lecture spaces are often designed to also host community events, drawing residents onto campuses. Design details regularly embrace local influences and neighborhood history. Art installations often draw inspiration from the site surroundings and sometimes showcase the work of local artisans.

Visit the to see how wellness, outdoor learning spaces and sustainability are also shaping the future of higher education.

Megan Marsh is a senior interior designer and senior associate in the Los Angeles office of CO Architects.

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By Lindsey Coulter

Bisnow’s June 18 in Los Angeles brought together leaders from across the academic, financing, design and construction communities to tackle nuanced student housing challenges. Beginning with a conversation on Compton College’s volumetric prefab modular student housing project in Compton, Calif. The event covered the growing challenges of funding — especially regarding housing smaller-scale projects — and how design approaches are adapting to meet the unique needs of Gen Z students.

The Compton College Case Study

The event kicked off with a breakdown of Compton College’s volumetric prefabricated modular housing project, completed with the Division of the State Architect by HPI, Bernards and Gafcon.

The 86,000-square-foot, $80 million student housing facility will provide 50 traditional units with access to shared bathrooms and common spaces, 50 semi-suite units with bathrooms and access to common spaces, and 50 studio units for single occupants. As many Compton College students experience food and housing insecurity, 100 percent of occupancy was earmarked for eligible low-income students. The project must also meet the standards of both modular construction and DSA approval.

“We’re building a box that is basically 99% to 100% finished,” said Larry Frapwell, president of HPI. “That box is wrapped, transported, stacked and then finished onsite. The challenges were understanding modular manufacturing and making the best of that system.”

That meant minimizing the project schedule while maximizing the quality of the project all under stringent DSA criteria, while meeting the objectives outlined in the project’s grant. The grant stated that the project could not exceed $80 million and had to be delivered design-bid-build. A modular consultant helped the team understand how to minimize the on-site work as well as the number of modules and module types while meeting DSA criteria.

David Lelie, senior project manager with builder Gafcon, explained the challenge of finding a general contractor with DSA experience, modular experience and residential housing experience, leading the team to do a prequalification process for general contractors as well as modular companies that ultimately led to the selection of Bernards and Boise, Idaho-based Guerdon Modular Buildings.

Cameron Carrizales, regional director of Bernards, spoke to the challenges of working with a DSA inspector across state lines and the need to reframe the modular process from “construction in a controlled environment” to a production line. Additionally, the project essentially had two job sites—the project site and the factory—requiring an even higher degree of communication and coordination within a compressed timeline while trying to lock in the best possible material prices.

From the Funding Perspective

Jason Dunster, senior integrated design director for McCarthy Building Companies, led the “Getting Deals Done: Making Projects Pencil and Delivering Solutions” panel, featuring financing and development experts across the higher education, design, real estate and owner/operator/builder spectrum.

Melissa Soto, manager of Capital Program Development for California State University, Long Beach, succinctly encapsulated the state of the student housing in California.

“We don’t have enough housing, and we don’t have the types of housing that we need and we have a serious affordability issue,” Soto said, noting that the student housing waitlist has jumped from 100 students to more than 2,500 in the years following COVID-19.

“There’s nowhere [affordable] to live in Long Beach. Everyone is looking to the campus to provide that service,” Soto said.

The issue also extends to faculty and staff members, who face similar housing affordability challenges.

Natalie Greenberg, chief operating officer for MJW Investments, helped paint the picture in terms of housing investment sales. “In 2022, we had $22 billion in transaction volume; in 2023, $5.7 billion and in 2024 $8 billion,” Greenberg said. “So, we’re slowly climbing our way up. A lot of that has to do with the interest rate environment.”

Raoul Amescua, senior vice president of Development and Public-Private Partnerships for the Michael’s Organization, raised the issue of tapering high school student populations and the tendency for equity to focus on areas of sustained growth and viability. “Right now, that’s going into the big power four football conferences,” Amescua said, adding that equity is hesitant to invest in California based on unstable insurance costs.

This hesitance is shared by higher education leaders, who, Soto noted, are cautious about taking on the significant debt that would be required to build the housing necessary to meet student demand.

Meeting Student Housing Needs

The day’s final panel, “The Next Generation of Student Housing and Accommodating the Growing Student Body,” centered on meeting the needs of Gen Z students — career-focused digital natives who largely value diversity, mental health, inclusion and community.

Kevin Conn, executive director of Student Housing and Residential Life for California State University, Northridge, and Brian Pratt, associate vice chancellor and campus architect for University of California, Irvine, reiterated the growing need for affordable housing on their respective campuses. Additionally, both shared successes stories from investing in housing that supports student wellness through amenities such as communal kitchens, outdoor areas, lounges and affinity spaces.

Mark Donahue, principal with Lowney Architecture, noted that CSU Long Beach has found creative and cost-effective solutions to some of these issues by developing a laundry facility shared by multiple housing buildings that has become a social hub for students, helping to address the issue of isolation.

Modular and prefabricated solutions were raised by Vince Polhemus, associate director of Preconstruction, Facade, for Clark Pacific, who reiterated their value in meeting a variety of housing and wellness needs while also offering longevity.

“[Prefabrication] has higher quality, because … parts are coming together in controlled factory environments,” Polhemus said. “One of the other benefits … is it requires fewer people on the job site to install.”

Donahue also spoke to the superior strength of modular construction when compared to typical stick frame construction, noting that the estimated lifespan of a modular facility is a third to a half longer—and modular facilities are often erected in just weeks and with significantly less noise, disruption and variability.

Panelists also spoke to more straightforward requests from students to have access to different types of dining, daylight, the ability to fully open windows and other design aspects that give them a sense of control as well as a sense of place and belonging.

Editor’s note: Check out more work happening in Compton with , and additional project profiles, updates, and trends in the K-12 and higher education market.

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