Peter Aranyi, head of student life practice at Clark Nexsen, discussed the benefits of refurbishment and why it brings special value to campuses across the country.
The community space in Clark Nexsen’s renovation of the Edens Quad dorm at Duke University.
As universities strive to provide student housing that matches the expectations of contemporary students, many people face the need to renovate or replace existing dormitories to provide modern facilities. COVID-19 has made these basic project decisions more complicated, thereby limiting the budgets of private and public institutions.
Most of the student apartments in need of renovation today were built for the “temporary” generation of the 1950s and 1960s. This generation of facility design is more pragmatic than anything, and most new buildings are built to accommodate large numbers of students. These buildings are usually made of concrete or steel frame structures and are constructed to maximize space utilization. Today, although they have withstood physical tests, their systems, decorations and furnishings have reached the end of their life cycle.
These renovations range from “system renovation” (solving mechanical, electrical, telecommunications, and even structural systems) to more comprehensive methods to enhance bathrooms, halls and community areas and complete renovations. Comprehensive decoration can completely change the living environment of students, enhance the vitality of the campus community, and achieve the institutional goals of student life.
In addition to having a positive impact on the student experience, renovations can also provide some key advantages in terms of cost, schedule, sustainability, historical preservation, and campus compatibility.
One of the biggest advantages of refurbishment may be the ability to reduce costs and shorten project timelines. Assuming that the building is well-structured, the site preparation, structure, and sometimes the building envelope can be retained. Therefore, the cost of a complete renovation is usually 70% to 75% of the cost of the new building. For example, at Penn State University, we simultaneously renovated the new buildings in South Halls (left) and Chace Hall (right).
The South Halls (South Halls) renovation project is a complete renovation of the complex, which has more than 1,000 members from 32 universities. Skylights are used to increase the limestone-covered building extension, which has the dual purpose of enhancing the appearance and covering up the distribution of pipes and piping systems. The new corridor porch enriches the character of the building, defines the entrance and enhances social interaction.
The South Hall consists of four steel-framed, 254-bed dormitories, built in 1958, and the Chace Hall is a new steel-framed dormitory. Both projects were designed by Clark Nexsen and completed at the same time by the Barton Malow Company using the same subcontractors. Overall, the cost per square foot of a new construction project is 32% higher than a full renovation project, and the cost per bed is 27% higher.
In addition to the “difficult” cost of demolition, site preparation, and new construction, time is another reason why the university chooses to renovate rather than build a new building. Depending on the level of emission reduction or demolition required, site preparation may take three to six months. Depending on the choice of the system, the construction of new structures and building envelopes may also take three to six months. Delays in construction progress for up to a year or more will increase the “soft” but very real cost of loss of revenue (xxx bed x $ x, cost per bed xxx) and rising construction costs (3% to 7% per year). Depends on the country/region). In short, refurbishment can bring the bed online faster without affecting the student experience.
Most of the older dormitory buildings lack facilities that appeal to today’s students. If these facilities do exist, their design, decoration and technology usually need to be updated. Bonnycastle Hall was built in the 1950s to serve freshmen and is part of the McCormick Road Houses complex at the University of Virginia. Before the renovation, these buildings lacked many of the amenities and biological comforts provided in the new dormitories on UVA campus. The new interior decoration and the emphasis on transparency and daylighting create contemporary aesthetics and make the space more attractive to students.
The public space on the first floor of UVA’s Bonnycastle Hall now features floor-to-ceiling glass storefronts and colorful modern furniture. This openness and transparency in the shared space attracts students and encourages social and group learning.
The dining and social space of the “castle” has been changed, and the external gathering space around the restaurant has been greatly increased. By opening the exterior walls and introducing lantern-like forms at the corners, the castle and the surrounding outdoor plaza has become a vibrant activity center, and the connection with the campus is becoming closer.
Some people say that the most sustainable buildings are those you don’t want to build, which is another advantage in the renovation column. Through refurbishment, you can save energy in many ways: the energy contained in the original structure, the energy used for disassembly, and the new energy and new materials that are rebuilt from scratch. For example, the renovation of Bonnycastle Hall, in addition to adding insulation, new windows and energy-saving systems, also reused 90% of the existing structure and building envelope.
The result is that buildings that have obtained LEED Silver certification have reduced energy consumption by nearly 50% compared to the baseline decoration. The new sanitary equipment has also greatly reduced the use of drinking water.
With the maturity and development of relatively young campuses such as the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and the establishment of building standards, student dormitories with sound concrete structures and a large number of beds (“too big to fail”) are undergoing external upgrades. These upgrades aim to enhance the campus identity by creating a more consistent aesthetic, whether it is traditional or more modern aesthetics.
In order to better align with the many other brick and concrete buildings on campus, the “Brutalist” concrete façade of the Holshouser dormitory building at UNC Charlotte University is made of brick and cast stone. In addition, entrance canopies and terraces were added to improve the scale of the building and provide outdoor community space for students.
Compared with the necessary renovation or replacement of post-World War II buildings on campuses across the country, many pre-war buildings have significant historical and architectural value. Different from the post-war buildings, which were built for economic purposes, the floor height was usually very low, while the pre-war buildings had not only significant architectural features, but also higher floor-to-ground dimensions, which could be more elegant To integrate the new building. Mechanical, electrical, sanitary and fire fighting systems.
The West Campus of Duke University is a model of some of the best Gothic university campus architecture in the country. The renovation of Craven and Crowell Quads aims to transform the learning experience of internal students while preserving the iconic exterior building.
Regardless of whether the goal is to provide new facilities or reconfigure the entire facility, there is no one-size-fits-all way to instruct universities to innovate or build new facilities. New buildings provide considerable degrees of freedom and value, but renovations can bring meaningful results and are cost- and schedule-efficient. For each building under consideration for renovation, the feasibility study will help determine the opportunities and constraints for renovation and will help determine the best course of action.
At Clark Nexsen, we are interdisciplinary, inspiring innovation and developing communities through discovery and design. Our blog reflects the unique perspectives that we collectively discover, inspire and shape ideas that change our world. For more information, please visit: www.clarknexsen.com/blog.
The community space in Clark Nexsen’s renovation of the Edens Quad dorm at Duke University.
The construction of Arup and Suffolk is part of the Northeastern University interdisciplinary science and engineering complex construction team, and the second phase of the project is currently underway. A new pedestrian bridge spanning five subway and railway lines provides a key link to the campus. Photo: Evan Patten