Kings of Infinite Space: How to Make Space Planning for Colleges and Universities Useful Given Constrained Resources

Traditional college and university space planning methods largely ignore issues of quality, money, and mission, focusing instead on the application of formulae to strictly categorized space types. Today’s complex challenges, including a significantly reduced resource base, motivate an evolution in methodology.

Opportunities exist to strengthen technical underpinnings and to question key assumptions, particularly the value of benchmarking. We sketch this evolved comprehensive space planning practice, with its emphases on utilization, economic value, quality, and accountability both to the institutional mission and to stakeholders.