by Amy Hoffman
Shawn Gaither’s ideas for a reimagined academic workplace support today’s student population, which expects a different type of interaction with their faculty, and the campus itself. A desire for convenient access, inviting environments with seamlessly integrated technology, comfortable furnishings, and flexible spaces that can be rearranged to fit their specific need is fueling conversations regarding the student-faculty interface.
At the same time student needs are evolving, the built environment has dramatically transformed as a direct result of Millennials in the workforce. As expectations for interior spaces are increasing, corporations and businesses are using the environment as a recruiting tool to attract the best and brightest talent. This concept is not limited to the private sector; it can be equally as effective in the higher education industry.
Another driver for new and improved academic workplaces is space itself. Universities are often drastically short on faculty office space. Consequently, the ability to assign the traditional 120-SF enclosed office to every faculty member is impossible on most campuses and, I argue, not the best utilization of the space. Individuals complete different tasks in different places, requiring a variety of space types to best meet their tasks at hand. Not only does re-thinking of workspace allow for more appealing collaborative spaces, it can also help solve some of the space shortages. For this Insight, I’d like to dig deeper into how spatial limitations begin to improve when functions can be shared among staff, and serve multiple functions.
Successful Spaces
As an interior designer at DLR Group, I’ve been helping private corporations, from Fortune 500 companies to startups, create effective workspaces for decades. Often, the best workspace for an organization is quite different than the one that they currently have. Based on this experience, I’ve identified three spatial elements – variety, collaboration, and flexibility - that are most successful in enhancing the user experience, and coincide with the three planning concepts Shawn introduced in part I of this Insight series.