By Lindsey Coulter

David Schrader FAIA, A4LE Fellow, LEED AP, is managing partner of SCHRADERGROUP architecture, has spent more than three decades focused on public-interest and education projects. However, Schrader, who is also an Editorial Advisory Board member for ���سԹ� (SCN), believes it has all been very well spent.��

“The planning,��design��and construction process takes time,” Schrader said.��“We��often��say��that��there’s��no such thing as instant gratification in our office.”��

Instead,��for Schrader��the reward comes from looking back at the culmination of a long, deliberate process, where the most gratifying moment is��finally��seeing the smiles on the faces of students, staff, and the community as they walk into��a new environment��for the first time.����

Schrader spoke with SCN��about his design and planning process, how to unite vision and outcome, and��what’s��next for modern learning environments.��

SCN:��What are the most common��disconnects��you see between institutional vision and built outcomes, and how can they be addressed earlier in the process?��

Two distinct failures often occur at the poles of facility planning:��

1. The Trend Trap:Implementing “trendy” concepts simply because they worked elsewhere. Without educator buy-in or a clear pedagogical fit, these features become wasted resources that��fail to��engage students.��
2. The LegacyTrap:��Designing out of comfort. If the planning team��doesn’t��push educators to envision the “next generation” of instruction, the result is a facility that mirrors the past and lacks the tools necessary for future learning.

These extremes can be mitigated through a rigorous, thoughtful engagement strategy:��

• The “What If” Phase:��Expose all stakeholders to high-functioning examples of next-gen learning. This expands the team’s vision of what is possible.��
• Realistic Guardrails:��Collaboratively set limits based on what the academic team will��actually utilize��in their daily practice.��
• Pedagogy First:��When the academic team��establishes��clear educational goals for their tenure before the design begins, the resulting facility��isn’t��just a building—it’s��a durable tool��optimized��for the future of instruction.��

SCN:��How has the integration of engineering, technology, and interdisciplinary coordination changed the way education facilities are designed and delivered?����

The question can be��taken��two ways. One is the effect of technology on the design process, and the other is how the technologies integrated into the facility have changed the design.��

Relative to the design process, BIM models are the tools used for design. Recent integration of energy modeling, daylight analysis and building modeling software have improved the building outcome to such an extent that we know exactly what the building will look like and how it will function (from an energy use perspective). Because many of the models are now hosted on the cloud, design-team members have the ability to continually tweak their portions of the work to improve the design of the facility. Recent influences of AI plug-ins have allowed the exterior and interior views to be tweaked for a location, user and time of year, so the end users can see the facility as if it were being experienced in all seasons.��

Technologies integrated into the facility work much the same for the final built version. The integration of lighting-control systems and building-management software have allowed the buildings to continue to monitor and control their own interior settings to allow for the most efficient and cost effective use. Further audio/visual developments have improved the extent to which a building can be programmed to allow for anytime/anywhere broadcasting of media throughout the facility. ��

A recent project our offices worked on integrated technology such as this so that productions occurring on the stage might be broadcast to any room in the facility, while a lecture occurring in one of the classrooms pertinent to the instruction in other rooms could be selected and presented in those rooms, all broadcast from one space.��

SCN:��Your firm emphasizes a consensus-based planning process��—��what does that look like in practice when working with school districts or higher-ed clients?����

Schrader: Our team’s unique talent lies in creating environments where community input is the cornerstone of design. We recognize that modern educators are master collaborators; our process mirrors their pedagogy. We begin by establishing a shared vocabulary of academic space, then transition into hands-on creative workshops using tactile, modular tools. This inclusive approach empowers educators, students, and administrators to co-author their future. By synthesizing the outcomes of these workshops into actionable design options, we ensure the final concept is truly built by the community for the learner.����

See more of Schrader’s insights, including lessons learned on aligning budget constructions with increasingly complex programmatic and performance expectations, in the upcoming Design & Construction print/digital edition of ���سԹ�, available in July. Subscribe today.

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“We believe this one megawatt installation will be the largest such undertaking by any higher education institution in the state of North Carolina,” said Catawba President Brien Lewis in a statement, “It will yield significant long-term benefits for the college.”

Innovative Design of Raleigh, N.C. is leading the project, while Sundance Power Systems of Weaverville, N.C. is serving as its solar developer.

The $5.2 million project will include the installation of numerous photovoltaic panels, as well as roof work on several buildings and the replacement of outdated, inefficient plumbing fixtures. These combined efforts are projected to save the private, 1,300-student college 11 percent on energy costs and 26 percent on water costs annually when compared with pre-installation and renovation figures. The capacity of the solar installations, located on eight buildings and a covered parking area, will rank as the second largest campus installation of solar energy in the southeast.

“Catawba College’s systems…will produce more solar-generated electricity than all other North Carolina colleges and universities combined,” said Mike Nicklas, president Innovative Design and the college’s consultant for the 2030 Green Step Initiative, in a statement. “The combination of those efforts over the next 20 years will save the college close to $5 million.”

While a large portion of the project will be funded through donations, the remainder is being supported by investors who are able to realize substantial tax credits for solar energy and who will, once the tax credits expire in a few years, donate the systems to the college, according to a statement by Catawba College.

Catawba is also a signatory of the American Colleges & Universities Presidents’ Climate Commitment of 2007.

“My hope is that our aggressive efforts to reduce energy consumption from non-renewable energy by 12 percent will serve as a wonderful example to others,” Lewis said in a statement. “The 2030 Green Step Initiative not only contributes to addressing climate change but it will yield significant financial and educational benefits for the College for decades to come. We are saying to our students and to those in our community that we don’t just talk the talk, we walk the walk.”

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