Aging campus buildings can be a headache for university administrators, yet some schools are putting off renovating their structures. Despite the fact that some campuses are building more space, the percentage of buildings that haven’t been renovated from 10 to 25 years and more than 50 years continues to grow, according to the 2021 State of Facilities in Higher Education, 8th edition, created in partnership with Gordian and APPA.
While older buildings can lend character to a campus and it’s understandable why schools are hesitant to make changes to historic structures. However, while students might like the historic feel of their traditional instructional buildings, they typically want their housing to be comfortable and modern. And for this reason – among others – administrators may need to focus their efforts on updating on-campus student housing.
Residence halls need to be kept updated for several additional reasons. First, there are competitive pressures. Older dorms that were built up to 50 years ago often don’t have the appealing modern amenities or room configurations that appeal to current students, which can discourage some prospective students from applying to an institution. Next, outdated buildings that were constructed with older materials and before advances in sustainable design and building technology can be energy inefficient and costly to operate. In addition, some older structures may not meet current building codes.
Schools can opt to build new dorms, or fix up the existing structures. The two biggest advantages of renovation rather than rebuilding are reduced costs and shortened project timelines.
According to CR architecture + design, renovating an older residence hall can cost between $60,000 to $85,000 per bed, versus $80,000 to $120,000 per bed to build new. With the potential cost savings of up to 30 percent, as well as preserving the more historic building details, renovation can be a great option. Renovation gives institutions an opportunity to update building systems for greater energy efficiency and upgrade life safety systems while dramatically increasing space utilization for far less construction dollars.
Are your older buildings good candidates for renovation? According to CR architecture + design, look at the following considerations:
- Ensure that the structure and foundations are sound and without movement.
- Assess the conditions of the campus utility distribution to the building.
- Analyze the building’s floor-to-floor height. A taller first floor can accommodate new student group spaces like study and recreation areas, seminar rooms and commercial food vendors.
In addition, the firm recommends making the following changes in a residence hall renovation plan:
- Configure spaces differently. Instead of large suites, consider building mostly doubles and singles to facilitate student meeting in community spaces throughout the building.
- Add more bathrooms per residential floor instead of larger, centralized bathrooms.
- Include real apartments for resident hall advisors.
- Re-wire the building for new data networking, Wi-Fi and wireless capabilities and connectivity to the campus networking infrastructure.
In addition, according to CR architecture + design, consider the following features in the dorm renovation process:
- Develop group recreation spaces that are equipped with video games, for instance, that can promote social interaction.
- Create group spaces throughout the building centered around different activities, including music spaces, ping pong and other social games.
- Ensure that the renovation maintains accessibility for all students.
- Include a combination of quiet areas and small group study spaces. Consider adding evening lecture spaces.
- Select durable and mature interior design finishes and furniture.
- Make sure each building has some distinguishing and unique characteristics to create a visual sense of identity for residents.