Campuses

PPS's Campuses Program

Walking across a great university campus can be one of the most memorable and palpable experiences of place we ever encounter. Prospective students, their parents, and faculty count the overall feel of a campus as one of the key decision points when selecting a school. The quality of the school is often judged by its sense of place and by the activities going on across the campus grounds as well as in adjacent streets, neighborhoods, and downtowns. Few people are happy attending a campus that seems placeless or dull, or whose surrounding context is hard to like.

Successful campuses create an inherent sense of community by offering many ways for people to interact with each other in the spaces between buildings. The idea of a self-contained community for learning, with places to exchange ideas in a tailor-made setting, was one of the great inventions of a young American republic. To create this interaction, campuses need a large variety of activities that are not specifically academic. It is not enough to build a university around the specialized needs of its academic programs; it also needs a collection of distinct gathering places that catalyze interaction. However, most universities spend their money on academic facilities that never consider how to relate to or animate the spaces around them.

Within any campus, there should be at least ten dynamic, well used public places that attract all kinds of people. This concept is what PPS calls “The Power of Ten.” Within each place, there should be at least ten things to do, such as eating, drinking, reading, browsing, playing a game, looking at art, and so on. Such places bridge the gap between the distinct and diverse communities within the campus; they are the settings for civic gatherings, residential life, and academic discussions, and they possess a variety of public, private, academic, retail and cultural amenities.

PPS examines these kinds of issues in order to improve the way a university functions and is perceived by students, faculty, visitors, and the neighboring community.

Services: PPS organizes and leads a visioning process with students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders to help identify issues, specific problems, and potential solutions related to creating a better campus environment. PPS then develops these into concepts used to guide future improvements and development. PPS can address many issues and opportunities in the concept development, such as:

  • Student, Faculty and Visitor Activities: How can the public areas better provide for all the activities that occur throughout the campus? Do the location and condition of the campus "amenities" support or hinder use of the campus? PPS analyzes a range of activities and events occurring on campus. By interviewing people and observing activities in different areas, PPS can develop recommendations and designs that meet users' needs more effectively. The goal is to identify general and specific uses for the public areas of the campus. After analyzing existing conditions and opportunities and developing a master program, PPS develops design recommendations for areas such as plazas, courtyards, and other major campus public spaces. PPS also provides design consultation on public amenities such as kiosks, band shells, and benches, as well as building facades.
  • Town-Gown Interface: We facilitate workshops that bring the town and gown communities together to envision a better quality interface where the campus and town edges meet and overlap. These edges can be the places where students spend the most time socializing, but can also be problematic areas that students avoid.
  • Campus Land Uses: Do existing land uses support activity in the spaces that surround them? What is the relationship between the internal and external uses of existing facilities? PPS looks at the way current land uses are affecting the use of and activity on the campus. PPS also reviews proposed plans to see that anticipated land uses are compatible with existing uses both architecturally and functionally, and that these new uses encourage an active campus life and relate, where possible, to the nearby city.
  • Security: A university campus is a public environment that has a unique set of security problems. PPS analyzes campus security problems, both real and perceived. PPS's design and management strategies for improving security complement more traditional law enforcement strategies such as increased police protection and lighting. PPS focuses on elements such as the design of the space, maintenance, access, and levels of activity in order to create an environment in which people feel secure.
  • Circulation, Role of Streets: How can a clear and convenient circulation route be established and maintained? How do pedestrians, bicycle and vehicular circulation routes work together to provide for effective movement throughout the campus? Are parking facilities adequate and properly located? PPS examines all aspects of circulation, as needed, to ensure that circulation operates smoothly while enhancing desired campus activities at the same time.
  • Information, Wayfinding Systems: Campus environments are complex settings that are often confusing to visitors and residents alike. Signage and information systems that are clear and properly located make it possible for users to find their way around a campus quickly and easily. PPS evaluates existing systems to determine what information is needed and where it should be located in order to prevent confusion of students and visitors.