The Intersection of Comfort and Sound: How Quiet HVAC Systems and Good Acoustics Contribute to Higher Learning

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Acoustics and Well-being Well-designed classrooms are central to learning. While students and staff may not immediately consider what they hear (or don’t hear), noise control is fundamental to their learning environment. As architects and engineers specializing in higher education design, we have an obligation to minimize these distractions, making acoustics an integral aspect of design […]

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Health Equity: Partnering to Improve Access

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The COVID-19 pandemic has emphasized profound weaknesses in healthcare and the inequities that have traditionally pervaded it. The virus has highlighted gaps and exacerbated them. Decades of widespread dependence on employment-based coverage meant Americans could lose coverage if they changed or lost their jobs. Layoffs show that as many as 7.7 million workers and 6.9 […]

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Exploring Healthcare Education: IU Student Outreach Clinic

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Minutes from downtown Indianapolis sits an Eastside neighborhood where access to healthcare proved challenging. Many residents often went without. But, thanks to a partnership between the Indiana University School of Medicine, the Neighborhood Fellowship Church, the Butler University School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, and the University of Indianapolis Krannert School of Physical Therapy, residents […]

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Designing College Campuses for Student Health, Equity, and Performance—Part 1

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Distraught, a friend described having sleepless nights concerned about her 19-year-old freshman son’s mental health. She wasn’t alone as many students across college campuses had a rough journey filled with isolation and anxiety from COVID-19. College is about connecting, community, and forming relationships. As they prepare to welcome students back, administrators’ focus will be on […]

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The Value of Adaptive Reuse

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To understand the importance of adaptive reuse, one must first appreciate the value of old buildings and architecture. While it can feel “progressive” to tear down the old in order to make room for the new, adaptive reuse defines progress differently. Rather than creating a narrow vision that imagines possibilities with a blank slate, reuse […]

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3 Strategies to Help Colleges Prioritize Deferred Maintenance Post-COVID

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The realities of a pandemic have made running a college or university harder than ever. Institutions must simultaneously plan for a murky future state while trying to keep the doors open today. This balancing act impacts nearly every decision made and every dollar spent. Even during the best of times, facilities leaders almost always need […]

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What are the Design Components of an Auditorium?

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Auditoriums and performing arts centers are important features of many K-12 and higher education facilities. They not only host the latest dramatic or musical performance for students, but they can also be used for professional performances, large meetings, community events, and other activities. They are truly an educational and community asset. Designing auditoriums requires knowledge […]

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What You Need to Know About Post-Tension Concrete Tennis Courts

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When we conduct facility condition assessments, we frequently find heavily worn and cracked tennis courts. If you have asphalt courts, you likely know that a fact of life is significant court repair or replacement every decade or so.   But it doesn’t have to be this way. There is an alternative: post-tension concrete. Post-tension concrete […]

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Design Crossover: Filling the Higher Ed STEM Pipeline Starting in K-12

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How Purdue University is combining community engagement, early program exposure, and cutting-edge education design to increase its engineering student pipeline. STEM careers are in increasingly high demand. Today, we don’t have the volume of prepared applicants funneling into higher education institutions to meet the workforce needs of tomorrow and continue to successfully compete in the […]

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