designing flexible and adaptable estates for the digital revolution

Designing flexible and adaptable estates for the

digital revolution over the next 15 yearsHenry Stewart Conference Series

London, UK

Atkins Lectures

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Philip Watson, UK design director,

Design and Engineering16 September 2014

What we do

University of Northumbria, Campus East University of Edinburgh, Centre Building

University of Northumbria, Sports

Bangor University, Arts Centre

University of Liverpool, Sports University of Northampton, Waterside

Atkins is in the top 10 architects and consultants across the education

sector. You can see some of our projects below.(Barbour Index 2012-13)

Course delivery

206,300= total number of Open University students (year end 2013)

- the most of any institution in the UK

20 UK and international

universities offer Massive Open

Online Courses (MOOCs) via

FutureLearn including Kings

College London and Edinburgh.

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

June 2013 June 2014

Total number of MOOCs: 300% increase since 2013

- Online vs. campus based – the balance is changing

The balance is shifting

towards online resources

and individually tailored

courses.

What does this mean for the

university estate? Might it

suggest that we will need

fewer, smaller physical

campuses in the future?

The learning landscape

Physical environment

University of Northampton, new Waterside campus development:, mosescameronwilliams + Atkins

Despite increase in online study,

universities continue to invest in campus

developments.

Identity/community


So why are universities investing at this

time?

- There’s increasing competition for

students

- There’s a recognition that universities

are competing in a global market

- Brand and the image of the university

is vital

- The campus is key in marketing the

student experience.

ref: Leesman Index: Education

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Library/Learning resource centre

Quiet rooms/individual study spaces

Communal study areas/social learning space

Availability of different types of study space on campus

Disagree

Neutral

Agree

14.6%

31.7%

18.1%

63.5%

Q. My University has effective teaching spaces that support my education.


However, gone are the days of ‘build it and they will come’. You can see from this

Leesman study that almost half of the students surveyed are dissatisfied with the types

of spaces provided for study on their existing university campuses. Investment works –

but only when the estate that is created satisfies student needs.

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Unbalanced priorities


How do we ensure that estates

development meets student

needs? There are complex

relationships between institutional

governance, academic drivers

and the estates department. They

often have competing priorities

that pull in different directions.

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Strategic vision

Only if governance, estates and

academic needs are aligned can

a sustainable strategic vision be

implemented.


University of Northumbria, Campus East, Atkins

Part of our brief at Northumbria University

was to ensure that the new campus could be

adaptable/reconfigurable into an office in the

future. This is crucial - estates investment

needs to consider future adaptability.

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How does the infrastructure support the learning vision? We need to ensure

that any investment in campus infrastructure is flexible and won’t present any

barriers to future use – regardless of how learning will take place.

And we must remember that all elements of the built environment can impact

on learning.


Impact

on learn

ingsuperstructure

building services

internal layout

furniture/

fittings/

equipment

Investm

ent

cost

With acknowledgement to, ‘Shell, Services, Set and Scenery’ Frank Duffy

1970s artistic impression of NASA’s concept for a space station to create more

space on Earth

Back To The Future (a 1989 film set in 2015)

Tomorrow’s world…? Predicting what future technology will look like and its

impact on how we learn is challenging.

Technology

Technology

Google Glass Graphene Wireless power

Here are just three new technologies that could well have an impact on learning:

Google glass – enabling learners to access information in a more personalised and

interactive way (hands free)

Graphene – as well as its many other applications such as in the world of material

science and even medicine, graphene is a new material that might facilitate a significant

change in the way we communicate with screens and mobile devices

Wireless power – meaning that we don’t need to be inhibited by as much infrastructure.

All could help remove inhibiting factors from the way space is used.

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Technology vs. student needs

What remains the same? We haven’t evolved as much as technology – not

since the first computer and certainly not since the first iPhone! We still want:

- Social interaction – the reason why many people choose to attend a

particular institution or to work in coffee shops rather than at home

- To develop our sense of identity

- To be given direction and guidance

- For our universities to provide us with comfort and inspiration.

Student needs

Generation X

30 – 40s

Generation Y

20 – 30s

Generation Z

10 – 20s

Generation...A?

0 -10Age Now

(2014)

Attitude to

technology‘Technoholics’‘Digital

Natives’

Who are the learners of the future? Today’s students are ‘Technoholics’ –

they are completely accepting of and reliant on technology.

‘Digital

Immigrants’‘Techorganics’?

Primary Secondary University

Student needsWhat’s their experience so far? Sometimes we forget what the learning experience of

young people might have been prior to university. With blended learning spaces and

dedicated practical spaces, a significant amount of work has been undertaken to

understand the impact of learning environment on students at primary and secondary

level.

P.S.Barrett et al. (2013). "An holistic, multi-level analysis identifying the impact of classroom design on pupils' learning."

Building and Environment.

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Let’s return to the physical environment of the future. What should learning spaces look

like? They are unlikely to disappear but traditional classroom settings aren’t often going

to be the answer.

Less of this?


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Comfort

We need to ensure that human comfort is satisfied as a minimum. This means good

ventilation, natural daylight and views - we are all drawn to a connection with nature.

Control is key, whether that's for the lighting, the ventilation or the general ambience –

people like the ability to personalise the areas they work in and this extends to learning

spaces.

The role of furniture in these learning scenarios - functional, flexible and comfortable - are

obviously important but furniture also provides the opportunity to zone spaces and even

address acoustic challenges.

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Connectivity

We will need greater connectivity – to other people, to Wifi, and quite possibly, to coffee!

The physical environment plays a vital role in the success of connectivity within a space:

cabling, power sockets and furniture. A strategy of zoning is important – understanding the

hierarchy of spaces in terms of technology/data and telecomms provision but it can also

relate to furniture and other fit out elements.

We need to provide a visible choice of environments to satisfy a variety of learning

preferences.

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Social interaction

It also means improving opportunities for social

interaction – whether that’s in intimate settings

or more communal ones. It is important to be

clear about the culture you’re trying to create

and support – the ambience created within a

given space can support or destroy this

culture.

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Individual Team Guided team learning Presentation


What naturally emerges is the need for a range of spaces to facilitate

different ways of learning. These can be roughly divided into these four

typologies and can manifest themselves in a range of different physical

environments.


‘Traditional’ estate

In conclusion, we are seeing a

potential trend for fewer but

better quality teaching spaces.

This diagram represents a

traditional campus.

One where people would move

between individual spaces; there

would be a series of spaces for

defined for certain activities: a

lecture theatre, a cafeteria,

individual study rooms (most

likely the student bedroom)

separated across the estate,

students would move between

them often spending a very small

percentage of time within the

campus.


‘Traditional’ estate ‘Blended’ estate

But in a more ‘blended estate’ we can begin to achieve more for less – more variety of

spaces for learning with multiple use, with furniture that allows more flexibility in teaching

and learning. This gives a reduced overall estate, improves utilisation and gives more

area per seat.

- Increased diversity of university courses

- Need to align learning, governance and estates

- Digital learning = more variety of space

- Image and identity are crucial to longevity.

Conclusion

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For more information contact:Philip [email protected]