Goals
- Implement one phase of Brown University's campus-wide initiative to upgrade teaching spaces.
- Create environments that make significant improvements in the comfort of students and the tools for effective teaching and learning.
- Address specific functional and technical deficiencies in each of 4 lecture halls.
Challenges
- Work within a limited budget.
- Design to function successfully not only for students, but also for continuing education programs, and for other constituent groups.
- Develop opportunities to address new pedagogies and flexible teaching styles.
- Fit appropriately within the context of the larger campus initiative for learning spaces, setting an example for approach, design, budget management, and integration of audio/visual equipment and tools.
- Build within tight phased schedules, minimizing down time even while addressing the design and construction challenges typically posed by unexpected conditions in a renovation.
Design Response
- Developed bold design gestures that integrate existing architectural features in each separate room, creating a strong visual impact using available aesthetic resources.
- Created a clear document representing the design intent for review and approval by the many stakeholders – from academics to administration.
- Took advantage of existing architectural features to create in one space a combination of fixed auditorium seating and moveable tables and chairs, resulting in a flexible environment to support evolving teaching methodologies.
Contractor
Suffolk Construction
Consultants
Wozny Barbar Associates
