September 26, 2024
Design strategies shaping education
By FRANCESLY SIERRA
Gensler
Sierra
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Pacific Northwest education institutions today are faced with a range of pressing issues impacting their ability to deliver high-quality education, foster innovation and support each student’s personal development. Many institutions are grappling with declining enrollment, population disparities, the rising cost of millions in deferred maintenance and regulatory pressures to meet the state’s energy efficiency targets. Gensler’s Education Design Forecast, published annually, identifies the top trends shaping the next generation of campus environments. Our top three trends for 2024 offer strategies in how higher education institutions can navigate pressing issues through the power of design.
BUILDING RENOVATIONS AND ADAPTIVE REUSE
As higher education institutions strive to stay relevant and reduce operating costs, they must focus on the best use of their physical assets. Data-informed strategies can help colleges and universities right-size their infrastructure, lower embodied carbon and optimize campus space use, such as converting aging classroom buildings into STEM, student services, and collaboration spaces rather than new construction.
In the case of Washington State University and in collaboration with WSU leadership, Gensler identified the desired program for a new integrated sciences building and established a roadmap of enabling projects in the pre-design phase to support it. These projects were categorized as sustained investments to meet program needs and tackle deferred maintenance. Andersen Construction and Gensler then partnered with WSU’s steering committee on the Eastlick Abelson Bustad Lab Renovations to initiate strategies to maximize budget, while providing inspiring and flexible spaces which reduce deferred maintenance and serve as recruitment and retention tools for students and staff.
By planning early and strategically for capital improvements within existing assets, institutions can identify opportunities to reduce operational costs through targeted investments while still meeting programmatic needs.
FINDING NEW WAYS TO SUPPORT DIFFERENT METHODS OF LEARNING
Hybrid learning is here to stay, and developing the right learning models, technologies and physical environments will remain a priority. In 2024, we’re seeing educational institutions invest in the spaces, technologies, faculty, and staff to support different hybrid approaches whether activity-based, schedule-based, or HyFlex (where students can choose to attend in-person, online, or both).
At Gensler, we deployed the Education Engagement Index, an online survey to an anonymous panel of 2,470 students, educators, and staff members at U.S.-based colleges and universities to understand their experiences and perceptions of expectations. The findings from this year’s survey reflected three themes:
Students’ on-campus presence is increasing, and sense of learning effectiveness is decreasing for virtual activities. Educators and staff continue to have a high sense of effectiveness, whether working virtually or on campus, while the majority feel most effective spending three to four days on campus.
Students have a similar sense of motivation and wellbeing across modalities. However, there is inequity in support for the learning experience for hybrid and virtual modalities. For educators, the sense of satisfaction and success has dipped, but has risen for staff.
Students have a growing preference for being fully on-campus and preference for choice of hybrid environments, be that library, café, or other collaborative spaces. Educators and staff continue to have a strong preference for hybrid and indicate being open to shared and unassigned officing models.
Survey findings should encourage institutions to seek data-driven solutions in which campuses can support a mix of hybrid, virtual and in-person learning. The support of providing choices in learning is a powerful tool for recruitment and retention of a diverse student population.
NEW AMENITIES TARGET SOCIAL CONNECTION AND WELL-BEING
In higher education, it is crucial to design places on campus that facilitate community and promote physical, social, and emotional well-being for students. Collaboration spaces, student success centers and residence halls are vessels for cultivating a sense of belonging. Colleges and universities are supporting “the whole student” and often provide non-academic support services, from affordable meals and housing to mental health and other wraparound services.
For the Western Oregon University Student Success Center, Gensler worked with the university to evaluate their existing program and design a new center to better serve its population. Western’s strategic goal is to increase graduation rates of underserved students through the consolidation of services in under-utilized campus buildings. Gensler worked with the steering committee to implement inclusive design practices which cultivate a sense of belonging and well-being by supporting deafness, blind and low vision, neurodiversity and accessibility through spatial and textural design solutions beyond code minimums.
When institutions evaluate barriers to service and ask themselves how they can better support the well-being of individuals from diverse populations, they are more successful in increasing recruitment and improving outcomes in graduation rates.
While higher education institutions and their leaders continue to address pressing challenges, keeping student experience at the forefront in exploring design opportunities can lend way to the creation of spatial environments that set up students for success academically and holistically. What’s good for student well-being can also be good for the bottom line.
As Gensler’s Seattle Education Practice Area Leader, Francesly Sierra focuses on creating new models that support the student experience and inspire the next generation of innovators.
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