Residence Halls: The Key to Creating Community on College Campuses

The Garage at Northwestern, Image: Garrett Rowland

The major question that college leaders are asking us is: “How does your project build community on-campus?” All colleges – whether private or public, large or small – are seeking the most effective and efficient ways to connect students across their campuses. As a major personal and social hub, residence halls can uniquely contribute to the overall sense of community.

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The New Wave: Innovative Learning Environments

The Garage at Northwestern, Image: Garrett Rowland.

Innovative learning environments have hit the mainstream in recent years - academic incubators and their ensuing culture of entrepreneurship and innovation are emerging on campuses globally. These spaces are playing a large part in the evolution of today’s education environments and have become a powerful tool for learning, collaboration and institutional student yield. Colleges and universities are competing to keep up with this trend and meet the modern student’s needs for success.

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Incubating Higher Ed: 10 Ideas for Tomorrow’s Campus

The new University of Kansas School of Business building marks a departure from the traditional design model – and, thus, the traditional approach to learning – focusing on innovation, serendipity, and being “future ready.” Image © Gensler

Over the past five years, we’ve seen a specific trend emerge in the world of higher education. It’s the emergence of a relatively small space, called the academic incubator. For Gensler, this began with universities such as MIT and organizations like Chicago’s 1871. They were designing hybrid maker spaces that acted as ‘bridges’ between the worlds of academia and the workplace, and they had the feel of entrepreneurial start-up offices. They may seem like a fad that’s spreading lightning-fast through the worlds of business and education, but we think they signal a more important paradigm shift. We see academic incubators as the spark igniting a revolution in design for learning.

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Inspiring Learning: Award-Winning Hajjar STEM Center Fosters Learning in Unexpected Places

Dwight-Englewood School Hajjar STEM Center. Image © Paúl Rivera

In my October 2014 post, “The State of STEM: Aligning Design with Pedagogy,” I reported on the lofty aspirations around the design of the new STEM building at the Dwight-Englewood School, where we sought to create a new paradigm for a STEM facility that aligned with strategies we created with the School in our research paper, “ The ABC’s of STEM.” This past September, the building was opened with huge anticipation and excitement, dedicated as the Hajjar STEM Center. In translating our research into practice, some key design elements and lessons learned emerged:

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Academic Incubators: The New Student Union

Garage at Northwestern. Image: Garrett Rowland.

Millennials are looking to Gather for Meaning

The student union has always been a college campus’s shared environment. It’s where students gather and a sense of community is fostered. Student unions historically offered leisure activities like bowling, movie night or student government offices, but today’s students are looking for more. They want to unite for something meaningful – not just for themselves, but for the benefit of their communities. Universities are filling this void with innovation centers and academic incubators.

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