Recently, growing attention to the connection between the on-campus residential experience and academic excellence has spawned a national drive to create a new wave of educationally oriented residences. This has especially been the case among community colleges and "commuter schools," where such housing has heretofore been unavailable. Academic housing is less an adjunct to the function of the American university than a critical pedagogic tool lying at the center of the creation and dissemination of knowledge. In the future this increasingly will be the case as learning continues to transcend the limits of classrooms, and innovations in methods of teaching and research abound across campuses.
This two-day program will explore the link between living and learning environments and will help the participants expand their understanding of trends affecting the campus role of student and faculty housing and factors influencing their future planning and design. The program will draw on lecture analysis, case studies, and the symposium input of guest panelists offering a range of real-world stakeholder perspectives. It is designed to stimulate and inspire all those interested in anticipating the future educational configurations of institutions, including architects, designers, planners, college and university administrators, real estate officers, developers, programmers, and market analysts. Participants will tour three recently completed student residence halls in the Boston/Cambridge area: the Parcel 18 housing at Northeastern University, Kyu Sung Woo Architects; 29 Garden Street Graduate Student Housing Complex, Harvard University, Jonathan Levi Architects; Wheelock College Student Center and Dormitory, William Rawn Associates.
Learning Objectives:
- Gain an understanding of current increased demand for on-campus residential opportunities.
- Identify current trends in the relationship between learning and living--new pedagogies and new housing needs.
- Analyze and critique emerging housing configurations.
- Gain an understanding of student perspectives on the unit interior.
- Explore sustainability opportunities and influences.
- Learn about the applicability of new modes of construction delivery.
- Analyze approaches to planning for adaptation and flexibility.
- Evaluate the future of boundaries of building use and type.
