Details on how a surplus school was transformed into an office for the Marin County (California) Office of Education. (Author/MLF)

The Boston Children's Museum has a participatory exhibit called City Slice. Visitors experience a three-story exhibit of a house, street, and yard with cross-section views that reveal changing needs and design issues over the century from Victorian Boston to the present. (Author/MLF)

The advantages and disadvantages of five alternative ways of using surplus space available to school systems. (Author)

A number of case studies show the conservation benefits of reuse and continued use of existing buildings. Energy savings increase when changes are adapted to individual circumstances. (Author/MLF)

A survey of approximately 80 closed schools revealed the cause of closing the school, the new users' form of ownership, and the type of reuse. School districts should recognize the steps required to define a market in an attractive and financially feasible form. (Author/MLF)

The Educational Center of the Arts in New Haven, formerly a synagogue, serves approximately 125 students in the area identified as having a potential for visual or performing arts. (Author/MLF)

Haverton, Pennsylvania, was able to keep its distinctive school buildings with a renovation program that cost a fraction of the price of new schools. (Author)

Discusses how one school put the wasted space in its football stadium to use as meeting places for various district and community activities, a black box theater, and space for displaying student art. Playing field quality and high-tech amenities that enhance team coaching and play and the public's enjoyment of the sporting events are highlighted.…

Illustrates how an alternative high school in Seattle (Washington) used creative thinking in taking space designed for other uses and making it into a user-friendly school. Other adaptations of old buildings to school use are highlighted. (GR)

As enrollment growth at Oregon Graduate Institute drew more people to the campus, the need for a central gathering place became clear. An old science building was rehabilitated with a first-floor kitchen, dining areas, plus 2 50- to 60-student classrooms. Renamed the Wilson Clark Center for Lifelong Learning, students and faculty now have a…

Discusses how schools and universities can transform outmoded urban structures into attractive and functional facilities. Issues addressed include the importance of sound planning to maximize building funds, the problems of blending new facilities with older ones, and working without the benefit of an older building's original architectural…

Discusses creating buildings from the ground up to support alternative (nontraditional) educational programs and the benefits of matching the facility to the curriculum and the students' needs. The use of a retrofitted vacant office building to support a nontraditional curriculum in Salt Lake City is highlighted. (GR)

Describes how schools and universities are finding new uses for outmoded facilities, thereby saving on land and construction costs and in many cases preserving buildings that have achieved historical status in a community. Offers several examples. (EV)

Skyrocketing interest rates and soaring construction costs are taking their toll on college and university building programs. At St. Norbert College in De Pere, Wisconsin, plans are underway to recycle a residence hall for use as a library. (Author)