Designing Student Residences for Higher Education in a Post COVID-19 World
Over the past decade, campus life has definitively evolved alongside the emergence of the 24/7 living-learning spectrum for students. Simply put, living and learning intersect and occur simultaneously. The built environment is being challenged to effectively respond to foster 21st century student life. No longer viewed as places to sleep and do laundry, the value of student residences as being integral to the student experience — and even becoming an effective tool for attracting and retaining students — is allowing student residences to be actively woven into the fabric of campus life.
At the advent of the current crisis, campuses across the world shut down and student residences were vacated, with a caveat: after initial confusion, stories emerged about stranded students who, unable to travel to their homes, had been granted permission to continue in residence. If we have learned anything from our current situation, it’s that we cannot predict the future. What we can do though, is create a framework for nimble, resilient, forward-thinking student residence projects with vibrant live-learn environments, which are adaptable to change.
It is no doubt that COVID-19 will impact enrollments for Fall 2020, both domestic and international, and future semesters. What this means for a student housing project set to open in a couple of years is hard to imagine. Or is it?
We will learn a lot more in the coming months and years about the impact of this crisis, but we have been able to organize our thoughts into four areas for future trends and preparedness:
- Student and Stakeholder Engagement
- Macro – Campus Level
- Meso – Residence Level
- Micro – Floor Level
Read more about our approach to these four areas HERE.
Ari is an award-winning architect and sustainable design specialist experienced in leading major project teams across both the construction and consultancy environments. His experience encompasses significant concept design experience with major multi-billion dollar projects across a variety of sectors, and brings together big-picture thinking with broad technical experience managing an interdisciplinary team (including construction and FM team members). He focuses on strategic delivery of major projects and large Design-Build/PPP building projects. His particular strength is in understanding client needs and developing practical, engaging design and delivery solutions, which makes him a great asset to our clients and construction partners alike. He has excellent analytical, organizational, and leadership skills with demonstrated experience in achieving aggressive and competing goals.
Ari has a Bachelors in Architecture from the University of Pune in India, and a Masters degree in Architecture from University of Arizona, with a specialization in Design and Energy Conservation.
