When it comes to building student housing, the stakes for universities and colleges have never been higher. From competing for prospective students and environmental bragging rights to contesting for space on the typical campus, institutions face a fundamentally different landscape than they did when housing previous generations of students. A…

Discussion of laboratory cabinets and desk systems looks at considerations of cost, flexibility, utility, serviceability, storage capacity, future availability of compatible components, and safety or other legal compliance issues. Four system types (standard floor-mounted, C-frame, end rigger-leg frame suspended, unistrut) are described, and…

Describes a model courtroom in which law school students at the University of the Pacific in Sacramento, California, can conduct practice trials. The courtroom design is circular and new features include an extensive security system, videotaping equipment, a press room, a technicians room, and an isolation room. (Author/DN)

Student rejection of traditional campus residence halls in favor of apartment-style living has left colleges and universities with a variety of problems. Research into student preferences has produced some basic requirements: privacy, - interaction, territory, security, safety, a sense of identity, a sense of belonging, and a sense of…

The lessons learned about classroom design considerations from the experience of the University of California at Santa Cruz through its remediation of classroom flaws are discussed and illustrated. Topics addressed include acoustical and visual conditions, wall and ceiling angles, shapes, and materials, the floor, seating, and durability and…

The role that "furniture" or architectural items such as benches, waste receptacles, and lighting standards can play in defining the campus as an aesthetic unit is examined. The evolution of such objects that have proven pleasing, functional, and durable at the University of Michigan is shown. (Editor/LBH)

Cooperative operational planning among autonomous institutions at the Oklahoma Health Center is demonstrating significant capital and operating cost savings as well as qualitative gains. (Author/MLF)

The building planning policies and suggestions of the University of Chicago focus on three types of goals: conservation of resources; innovation in restructuring the internal environment to improve the functioning of existing facilities and to obtain maximum benefit from new buildings; and the maintenance of both design quality and continuity.…

Two aspects of the physical planning process at Macquarie are presented: (1) the inheritance of ideas and models that influenced the order, form, and structure of the first construction phase; and (2) a description of the major aims and design methods that influenced the construction program. (MLW)

This article focuses on the future physical layout of the university in view of the profound social and cultural changes of our time that are affecting the structure of higher education in general and universities in particular. We suggest that the basic architectural prototypes of university design should be re-examined in view of these changes.…

This article looks at how behavioral research can be an effective tool to use during the redesign process of university plazas. It also summarizes the research that was conducted at University Union Plaza at California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly), a 30-year-old plaza that is scheduled to be redesigned. Through the use of behavioral…

A library now in the final planning stages at Lehigh University is described. The new building will also house the university's computing center and related activities. The planning process is traced, indicating the relationships among various aspects of the process--academic, physical, fiscal, and political. (MLW)

When the University of Chicago Music Department moved into a renovated building, faculty attitudes changed from initial rejection to enthusiasm. Department members' needs and expectations, the program and budget, design and construction, and the project results are outlined and illustrated. (MSE)