Phased progress: Balancing innovation and budget in facility transformations

The University of Pittsburgh’s Hillman Library reinvention serves as a blueprint for how campus spaces can respond to trending student preferences and institutional goals using thoughtful stakeholder engagement and a phased, budget-conscious approach. Session leaders illustrate how to productively involve students and staff to ensure spaces reflect current and future user needs — including collaborative zones, tech-driven amenities, and intuitive layouts. They provide findings on phased construction processes enabling continual refinement while keeping facilities operational and costs manageable. They profile how this model of balancing innovation with fiscal responsibility empowers institutions to adapt confidently in uncertain times.