Accommodating change in existing buildings on a college campus or in a school district is challenging, but manageable. The key to successful adaptive reuse is thoughtful and thorough decision-making. Why consider recycling existing buildings? There are many reasons, including limited institutional resources, the increasing cost of new…

What should a campus do when it needs more learning spaces but can't construct new buildings? Dr. Benjamin Sill's first task when he became the director of Clemson University's general engineering program was to find space for classrooms and for the advising program. His search ended in the old YMCA building (Holtzendorff Hall), where space was…

Describes how a Michigan school district transformed several free-standing, "warm-weather" high school buildings into clustered areas connected by enclosed corridors. Space is now grouped by instructional area or the use of related equipment, and the building shell is tight and energy-efficient. (MLH)

Describes a community planning laboratory process held to resolve the issue of reuse of excess school facilities. (Author/MLF)

The Denver (Colorado) Board of Education has taken a number of steps to avoid closing schools. Among these are refiguring school capacities; providing full-time space for programs that do not always function full-time; providing additional private space for related services (psychological, social work, and nursing); expanding instructional…

With community cooperation, imagination, and marketing skills, school buildings can be converted to other community uses. Tables summarize recent sales in Delaware. (MLF)

An open-air courtyard converted into a three-level bookstore retains its attractiveness with skylighted malls on two sides. Despite construction obstacles, the cost was a reasonable $55 per square foot. (MLF)

Extra space was found in existing structures and remodeled for use as a student center in New York, an art academy in Pennsylvania, and history department office space at Stanford University (California). (MLF)

The aim of this booklet is to stimulate informed discussion about the development of open-plan primary schools in Scotland. Background information is provided that focuses on the development of the design and construction of an early (1969) open-plan facility -- the Kirkhill Primary School in Broxburn. How education authorities learned from their…

Renovation and conversion of many old buildings at Davidson (North Carolina) College over the past fifteen years have saved millions of dollars and preserved the neoclassical architecture of the campus. The Davidson shop crews' repair and remodeling projects are described and illustrated by several photographs. (MF)

Beginning on the front cover, this article recommends planning ahead and involving the community in surplus school use decisions. It suggests turning surplus schools into projects restoring historic buildings and benefitting neighborhoods. (JM)

That preservation and recycling of unused school buildings to other community uses is both economically and socially sound is illustrated by several examples. Information on federal grants for conversion of unused school buildings to community education and activities centers is included. (MF)

School systems in urbanized or built-up areas have difficulties locating suitable sites for new buildings. Examples of the use of space in alternative locations include the Parkway Program in Philadelphia; the Work Place School in Alberta, Canada; the Metropolitan Learning Alliance in Minnesota; and the Schoolhouse Boat in Vienna, Austria. (MLF)

At the same time that schools are closing in many communities because of declining enrollments, the arts are expanding at the community level. The problem of surplus school space can be the solution to the needs of many artists and arts groups. Mutual to the arts groups and the communities are the benefits of flexible arrangements and the presence…

The challenge confronting colleges and universities in the 1980s is seen as establishing physical planning processes designed to promote and demonstrate the efficiency of reclamation of resources to provide an enhanced physical environment for the academic program. Rehabilitation studies, space use, land use, codes, and regulations are discussed.…