As a campus situated on nearly 1,000 acres and located seven miles from downtown Vancouver, the University of British Columbia (UBC) wants to become a more attractive place for student activities with improved access to student services.

"A lot of faculty and department learning groups on campus are divided into silos with separate buildings for the various disciplines," says Catherine Alkenbrack, manager of space administration and planning at UBC. "Learning is becoming more synergistic today with interaction between different areas of study. We recognized a need to create more informal, interdisciplinary areas for students and faculty members of various departments to meet and discuss their work."

Doing the Necessary Homework

In the summer of 1999, UBC formed a Student Social Space Committee, chaired by vice president of students Brian Sullivan. A goal of the committee was to identify existing student social space and pinpoint areas that could be converted to alternative learning places.

"UBC's vision for learning emphasizes interaction and collaboration," says Sullivan. "This requires a broadened understanding and a 'beyond-the-classroom' approach to where learning takes place. The Student Social Space Committee led the way in making this transition."

The Student Social Space Committee is a continuing entity with the number of members changing from year to year. Even though the numbers change, the group always includes representatives from a variety of departments, such as campus planning, food services, the International Students Centre, the Accessibility Centre and the vice president of students office. The Committee also includes members from other student associations, such as the Alma Mater Society and the Graduate Society. Students comprise approximately 50 percent of the Committee.

Three students, independently commissioned by the Committee, evaluated each campus facility based upon an "inadequate vs. adequate provision of social space" criterion. The Committee selected the new student social spaces from a Social Space Inventory created as a result of the independent student survey. All of the renovations were the result of priorities itemized by the students.

"They really saw the buildings through fresh eyes and it was quite invigorating," says Alkenbrack. "They critiqued the existing student social spaces and set up criteria for the new ones to be developed."

Based on the results of the Committee's four-month evaluation, UBC created an improvement plan and prioritized the University's goals.

"Rather than being part of a dense urban fabric, without the coffee shops and meeting places that a city naturally provides, students felt they needed more informal social space," says Alkenbrack. "Until recently, we have been focused on discussions of teaching rather than learning and learners. We are now aware of the new pedagogies that emphasize interdisciplinary learning, team teaching, problem-based learning, and a focus on synergistic research."

The first priority called for seven buildings, consisting of 22,762 sf, to be renovated at a total cost of $392,000 USD or about $17 per sf.

Defining the Scope of Work

Suzanne Poohkay, manager of UBC's capital programs, is responsible for developing project budgets and creating strategies to raise the necessary funds. She notes that the seven projects were funded with a variety of sources, including government grants, maintenance funds, faculty resources, and contributions from student groups and alumni, representing a creative, but not unusual, method to pay for necessary projects.

Labeled as Priority 1, the Student Social Space Committee chose seven areas within buildings for renovation:

Student Union Building: 3,175 sf; 71 seats; $150,000. Renovation work included exterior canopy, glazing, new flooring, walls, and furnishings. Students have access to comfortable chairs and couches, food services, and computer stations and ports.

Main Library, Ridington Computer Lab: 4,079 sf; 210 seats; $43,312. Renovation work included a new coffee bar and computers. Students have access to study tables and chairs, food services, and computer stations and ports.

Henry Angus Building, Room 302: 2,023 sf; 48 seats; $32,500. Renovation work included new flooring, furnishings, and paint. Students have access to comfortable chairs, couches, and tables, food services, vending machines, games, television, and computer stations and ports.

Henry Angus Building, Room 317: 1,022 sf; 48 seats; $30,000. Renovation work included new carpets, lighting, paint, millwork, and refurbished tables. Students have access to games, study tables and chairs, and computer stations and ports.

George F. Curtis Building: 1,517 sf; 46 seats; $14,375. Renovation work included food services and new furnishings. Students have access to food services, games, and soft furnishings, such as tables, and comfortable chairs and couches.

H.R. MacMillan Building, Agora: 3,293 sf; 51 seats; $38,812. Renovation work included new furnishings, food services, and computer connectivity. Students have access to comfortable furniture, food services, television, study tables and chairs, and computer stations and ports.

Woodward Instructional Resource Centre: 7,653 sf; 96 seats; $83,093. Renovation work included upgraded lighting, flooring, and connectivity. Students have access to food services, study tables and chairs, and computer stations and ports.

All seven spaces include some type of connectivity either through ports for laptops or available computers. This aspect of the project coincides with the University's 1997 initiative to connect all of the campus buildings onto one network with Internet connectivity. The main library and the student union offer the most access to computers, while the other buildings provide port hookups. At this time, students are not required to provide their own laptops.

Renovations to the Woodward Instructional Resource Centre have made it an ideal place for both mentoring and group work. The Centre provides open space, as well as partitioned areas that allow for more privacy and a quiet environment for studying and tutoring. Students are also able to control the lighting in each area.

Work labeled as Priority 1, as well as smaller upgrades labeled Priority 2, was completed in late summer 2001. Priority 2 work, which cost about $250,000 USD, included small tasks such as painting and installing new flooring.

Evaluating Space Utilization

Following completion of the projects, UBC commissioned The Resource Planning Group Partnership (RPG) in August 2001 to conduct a post-occupancy evaluation to determine which areas were being used the most. The evaluation consisted of observations and interviews with the individuals who were using the spaces.

The RPG Partnership consisted of architectural programmers who are experienced in post-occupancy evaluations, and have done several faculty and program master plans for UBC. Actual observations took place in the third week of September at a time when students had settled into their routines.

Observations took place on two consecutive days from 8 to 9 a.m.; noon to 1 p.m.; 3 to 4 p.m.; and 7 to 8 p.m. Site interviews with a sample of students and faculty users took place first, then the data was consolidated and interpreted.

"The post-occupancy evaluation results are important because they tell us what we should be doing in the future," says Poohkay. "There was a fear that students might use the spaces strictly for socializing and the work element would be missing. However, we found that students do value these social spaces and use them both for studying and staying in touch with their friends."

When RPG observed the activities taking place in the social spaces, they reported that 44 percent of the individuals appeared to be studying; 36 percent were socializing; 19 percent were working on computers; and one percent was involved in counseling or tutoring.

However, the results were different when the students were actually interviewed about their activities. Although the percentage for tutoring and counseling remained the same, 52 percent reported they were socializing and 47 percent said they were studying.

"Although the observers saw students working on computers, the students considered their time on the computer as a social activity and not work. That was the most interesting outcome of the evaluation," says Alkenbrack. "The results tell us that this generation is more capable of multi-tasking and working with a high level of distraction. The wedge of computer use was encouraging because the IT service component in these spaces was a huge portion of the cost compared to the other minimal renovations."

The evaluation showed that average seat capacity in the seven social spaces peaks at 47 percent at noon and the average length of stay is 21 minutes. The broadest faculty representation seems to be in the Student Union Building and in the library. The social spaces are open for varying hours based upon the operating hours of the building in which they are located.

When asked if they liked the environment of the social spaces, 43 percent of the students said yes, while 35 percent expressed displeasure. Using the word 'environment' may have been too broad, according to Alkenbrack, taking into account the lighting, temperature, noise level, and other factors. Therefore, the results do not give an accurate picture of how well students and faculty members really enjoy the new alternative learning areas. The question will be more specific on future evaluations in order to gain more accurate results.

Lessons Learned

UBC officials have learned valuable lessons from the first stages of the capital improvement program, which will be used to plan future projects. For example, it's important to locate social spaces near amenities that are used around noon, such as food service. Buildings with large student populations should be targeted for improvements first so they can be used as alternative learning spaces.

"We also realized a need to market the spaces in a more concerted way to reach first- and second-year students who really don't have a high awareness level about what's available on campus," says Alkenbrack. "We may market these spaces in our orientation packets that go out to students and we may include them when we give campus tours."

University planners also intend to keep interviewing students about their preferences and to use the results to refine other learning spaces. In order to ensure that each space includes an area suitable for faculty meetings and tutoring, Alkenbrack says the spaces may need some architectural screening to allow for more privacy.

"Clearly, the most successful spaces offer superior study areas for the students who really want to hunker down or provide a wide range of services for students wanting a broader experience from these spaces," says Poohkay. "It is really important that we cater to at least one of these attributes with every new space that we construct."

Forward-Thinking Projects

Priority 3 projects will be determined based on the funding available in fiscal year 2003. Next on the agenda is a 10-year, multimillion-dollar capital improvement plan that will build on the foundation of the social spaces work. This plan is geared toward upgrading an aging campus with refurbished teaching labs and improved classrooms.

According to Poohkay, the University is currently negotiating with the Canadian government to fund the 10-year project. Once the funding is arranged, definite plans will be put into place detailing how many buildings will be renovated and how many new structures will be built.

Poohkay and Alkenbrack envision at least one new structure that would house classrooms, labs, and social spaces for medical students and those studying in various fields of science. In addition, the 10-year construction program is expected to include vast renovations to the current housing facilities, as well as new housing units for students and faculty members.

Renovating the auditorium, which is one of the oldest buildings on campus, and constructing a new facility around the main library are also part of UBC's plan for future expansion.

By Tracy Carbasho

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