Talking Stick - September/October 2012 - 45

Our lImIted budget reStrIcted Our abIlIty tO addreSS all Of Our SuStaInabIlIty gOalS, SO We fOcuSed On Water SaVIngS and are Very pleaSed WIth Our reSultS. We alSO deSIgned the SpaceS tO be flexIble enOugh tO allOW uS tO Open fOur mOre llcs If We deSIred.
recycled materials; encourage changes in behavior that impact sustainability (e.g., elevator and stair placement, shower times); maximize conservation (especially electricity, water, and food); and maximize the contributions to utilities required to operate the facility (e.g., wind, solar, rainwater, etc.) because BU’s responsibility is to be good stewards of God’s creation and to educate students on their responsibility to and impact on the environment. (2) Within the tenet of innovation, we recommend the following design elements: coffee shop/cart in small niche spaces (e.g., coffee/laundry/study area); black box fine arts theater; unique dining concepts (specific); medial wall with indoor/outdoor; garden area/ atrium; and dance studio. (3) Within the tenet of flexibility, we recommend the following design elements: diversity of housing options within the village, neighborhood, and block; flexible furniture for personal design needs and interests; a menu of customized furniture (online – building your room when you register); a financial model that allows for innovations that emerge as student trends develop; and common spaces with flexible furnishings and functions (e.g., theater, classroom, couches, desks, open space). (4) Within the tenet of community, we recommend the following design elements: purposeful common spaces; signature architectural features that inspire; academic spaces for faculty offices, classrooms, teaching spaces, seminar rooms, computer labs/project/study areas; reflective and introspective spaces – chapel prayer garden, quiet technology free zones; Great Hall/dining area; and dedicated faculty and graduate residence spaces, with the chaplain as mentor. (5) Within the tenet of technology, we recommend the following design elements: wiring for future technology (wireless Internet, team spot); laundry tech (free, notification); tech support (increase support staff, one student staffer per hall); library (tech connect with main library, then with appropriate hand copies on site); and cell carriers (increase signal strength). to gain additional insight from our students through some focus-group interactions.

John Lauer: Jeff and Pat, it is exciting
and inspiring to hear your campus updates. Jeff, I hope to come to your campus this fall at the invitation of one of our trustees who is connected to Baylor. I would enjoy the chance to meet and to see first thing how things are progressing. Pat, I missed connecting at ACUHO-I, but we still had some things going on related to the Waldo Canyon Fire that I felt compelled to be here for. Our 21st Century Project journey rocketed out of the gate with an amazing summit back in 2009. We even had some spring snow to keep things interesting! We had a Saturday summit, and there was fantastic energy in the room the entire day. Our president, dean of the college, and three vice presidents gave us their full attention for most of the summit. I considered that a great privilege in only my second year at Colorado College. The three faculty members who participated in the summit remain champions of residential life and housing to this day. All but one of the students have graduated, but we have kept the new students oriented to the 21st Century Project and the tenets, particularly our RA staff and the leaders of the Colorado College Student Government Association. We realized that this would be much more than a single construction project, more like a full transformation of our inventory. We created a strategic vision,
september + october 2012

Connor: One step we took to get our project off the ground was to include information related to the 21st Century Project during the process of project/design and architect search/ selection. Through the firms’ initial written responses (and for the eight firms interviewed) the incorporation of 21st Century Project core themes (sustainability, innovation, flexibility, community, and technology) was a part of the assessment process moving toward selection. In the end, MSKTD & Associates of Fort Wayne, Indiana (project architect), and Mackey Mitchell of St. Louis, Missouri (design architect), were selected.
Once project and design architects were hired, we shared the 21st Century Summit notes prior to their arrival on campus. Also, we held a series of charrettes (an exhaustive planning session which feeds the creative pieces of the project) with the architects, and we invited participants from our Saturday summit to be involved in those discussions. We also attempted

Talking Stick - September/October 2012

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