Dorm Remodeling: the Campus Master Plan
Over the next nine years, BSU aims to improve half of its residence halls by reworking existing spaces to create “a better combination of social connection and personal privacy,” based on student feedback, while also making spaces cleaner and more comfortable, according to the college’s Campus Master Plan.
Created by Goody Clancy, the design firm behind the East Campus Commons and Stonehouse Hall, describes the plan as a framework, “the most important facilities improvements needed over the next decade.” The plan is also required as documentation when obtaining funding from state agencies for capital projects such as these, according to Karen Jason, vice president for operations.
At Woodward Hall, the number of beds will be reduced by 17–41%, decreasing the density of rooms and eliminating all quads, which Good Clancy found were unpopular among students. Bathrooms will also become evenly dispersed, as they are all currently clustered at the center of each floor.
In Shea & Durgin Hall, two to eight bedrooms on each floor will be reworked into lounges, in a move aimed to open up corridors and encourage socialization. Most potential new layouts also involve connecting the walkways on each floor by removing the protruding rooms that created “cul-de-sacs,” which Jason called, “Disorienting, especially for first years.”
Similarly, at Pope Hall, one double-bedroom on each floor could be removed to create lounges. Pope may also see walkways widened to make lounges and study spaces “more inviting.” The mailboxes in Crimson and Weygand will be removed as well, potentially to make room for new spaces that will be “serving student life needs,” and potentially accessible to all students.
Goody Clancy recommended creating a new residence hall on the East Campus to compensate for the lost living space. President Fred Clark did not support the idea, and told the Board, “We won’t be building a new building on my watch.” According to Jason, this was done due to concerns over shrinking college enrollment, and effort by President Fred Clark “to uplift the buildings we have,” rather than expand the campus as the previous Campus Master Plan had.
