Piazza Episode 5 - Return of the Comfy Seating

No building would be complete without an atrium, and the Piazza building is no exception. The ground floor of the atrium area is going to house a 350-seat servery, with areas on the first and second floor earmarked for touch down spaces for use between lectures.

As a placeholder, these areas have been configured with relaxed seating and coffee tables, however we’ll be looking at alternative layouts in the new year. These might include booth seating, which is great for group working and allows us to make good laptop power provision, or might be based around relaxed seating but with higher, more laptop friendly, tables instead.

If you have any thoughts on what you’d like to see, please let us know via the usual e-mail address (learning-spaces@york.ac.uk) so that we can take them into account when we start looking at furniture options along with flooring, colours and other finishes over the next few months.

Eve

  

Piazza Episode 4 - The Flat Floor Awakens

Hopefully the subject of a guest blog in the new year, one of the ‘behind the scenes’ activities in Space Management is the modelling of space requirements for teaching.

With the inclusion of a new lecture theatre in the Piazza Building we’re able to look at using other Campus East rooms such as LMB/030+31 as two rooms rather than one - which in turn frees up one of the new spaces in the Piazza building.

Rather than equipping that space for lectures, which would create a flat-floored lecture room for a maximum of 100 (though, significantly less with high quality writing surfaces), we’ve been looking at setting it up as a space for student societies, exhibitions and other uses instead.

We’d still include the infrastructure for a lecture space (power for projectors, somewhere to connect a lectern, etc) but have removed the floor box that would have fed a lectern so that we can provide the most solid floor space possible. To that end, we’ll also be looking at fitting the room with a solid floor rather than carpet, so that groups like dance societies can make best use of it. And with that in mind, we’ll still plan to install some speakers so that users of the room can plug in a laptop or phone for music.

Of all of the spaces in the new building, this is one of the most exciting as we have the possibility to do something a bit different to address non-teaching needs in the University community, so if you have a use for this kind of space please do get in touch with us (learning-spaces@york.ac.uk) if what we’re planning would suit your needs or if there's something else that you’d like us to consider adding!

Eve

Piazza Episode 3 - The Empire Lights Back

The new Piazza Building will include a large lecture theatre with about 350 seats, although we’ll be discussing exactly which seats to use in the new year (as ever, suggestions welcome via learning-spaces@york.ac.uk). The tablet chairs as shown below are only indicative - there will be a writing bench similar to our other high quality theatres.

At this month’s Working Group, we discussed power provision (a socket per every three or four seats, similar to Spring Lane) and technology provision.

The height adjustable lectern that we introduced in Spring Lane has been well received, so will be repeated. However, we’ll be moving it away from the seats a little, so that it sits about halfway between them and the projection screens. We’ll also be shrinking the lectern from the three metres wide in Spring Lane to closer to two metres in Piazza to help make sure that there’ll still be plenty of free space at the front of the theatre.

We’ll be pairing the lectern with another video flipchart table which, like in Spring Lane, will allow the use of the projection screens (two, about the same size as Spring Lane) instead of traditional whiteboards.  Working seamlessly with lecture capture, as well as providing more virtual writing space than we’d have been able to fit had we used traditional column boards, the video flipchat has received overwhelmingly positive feedback so far - though we will be looking at making it a little more presentable in its next incarnation!

As well as taking the best bits of our recent builds and refurbishments, we’re always looking for ways to improve our spaces. One of the things we’re looking at for the Piazza Building is the lecture theatre lighting. As well as the standard strip lights that we find in lecture theatre across campus, we’d like to include some more focused lighting towards the front of the theatre. This will help to create a ‘performance space’ at the front of the theatre, as well as making the projections look better and simultaneously making the speaker is easier to see.

Speaking of performance spaces, next time will be a look at a potential societies space within the Piazza Building.

Eve

Piazza Episode 2 - Attack of the Clones

The majority of space in the Piazza Building is made up of seminar rooms - over 30 in total - which will seat about 20 people in a horseshoe setup similar to that used in the Spring Lane Building. The success of the Spring Lane Building provides a great blueprint for the planning for the Piazza Building.

Inspiration from the Spring Lane Building

The continuing use of ‘desk style’ teaching positions as part of the horseshoe setup has been popular, so will be continued. The ‘windows’ to the interior of the building have also been well received - students being able to spot empty rooms and make use of them has been mentioned repeatedly in feedback, and the Spring Lane Building’s heavy usage (already among the heaviest on campus!) owes significantly to them so they’ll be repeated and enlarged in the new building.

One of the lessons learned from the Spring Lane Building has been that power provision for laptops is important in seminar rooms, as students might have a couple of 2-3 hour seminars in a day, with no chance to recharge laptops in between. Originally, the Piazza seminar rooms had been designed with ample plug sockets - in some cases, enough for one per person. However, having considered concerns relating to trailing cables, Helen and I have been tasked with investigating furniture with integrated power, which will allow a socket at every seat. Should it be successful, it will be something that we can look at retrofitting elsewhere in our learning estate.

Turning to the technology, our recommendation that we explore wireless presentation receivers was well received. Hopefully a subject of their own article in the new year, inclusion of these in each room would free the lecturer to deliver from anywhere in the room as well as facilitating the use of touchscreen laptops or tablets to enable a more interactive style of teaching. We’ll also be looking to include a digital OHP in every room, as well as Replay functionality (watch this space for articles on those subjects too!) throughout.

Next, a look at the 350-seat lecture theatre.

Eve

Piazza Episode 1 - A New Hope

At this week’s Learning Spaces Working Group, Helen Stephenson (Estates Project Manager) and I presented our first round of recommendations for the Piazza Building - a new teaching and catering building due to come into use for Spring Term 2018.

Artist's impression of the Piazza Building's position on Campus East

Situated on the University’s Campus East site near the Ron Cooke Hub, between Langwith College and the lake, it’s our first big opportunity since teaching buildings were first constructed on the East Campus to review space needs and respond to six years - nearly seven and a half by the time it’s live - of exciting growth and development of the departments based there, plus provide a new home base for our up and coming International Pathway College.

Having looked at those space needs, and the space that we expect to need for the next few years, the building will include:

• a lecture theatre, to seat approximately 350
• over 30 seminar rooms, each seating approximately 20
• a catering space, to seat about 350, with full commercial kitchen
• various circulation areas, set up to support study or group work between timetabled sessions
• a flat-floored space, which could be used as a 100 seat lecture theatre but we’re hoping to leave available for student lead activities.

All of which I’ll be taking a closer look at in a series of posts leading through to the new year.

Eve
Learning Spaces Installations & Project Manager

Your seat at the table - have your say on the future of our learning spaces

As part of our ongoing commitment to staff and student consultation, we're undertaking a week of activity to seek feedback on the use of learning space within the Spring Lane Building and future developments.

Come along to the Spring Lane Building (map) between today and Friday 18 November to tell us about your 'must have' and 'could have' room facilities, and take part in our 'House of Chairs' vote.

We'll also be conducting face-to-face surveys in the building and circulating an online survey to recent Spring Lane room users.

The feedback will be used to help us understand how you're using the new building as shaping future projects like the Piazza Learning Centre.

We look forward to hearing what you have to say!

New Year, new update!

Welcome to 2016: a year that promises to be a challenging, but hugely positive for staff, students and University as a whole. 

Recently I was invited to attend the YUSU Academic Leadership meeting with Sarah Bacsich, one of our Estates Project Managers. Sarah presented an update and current proposals for Spring Lane Building, and I presented on the future of learning space across campus. 

We received really valuable feedback, particularly around the well-known dislike to certain types of tablet chair across campus which we will look at replacing as we roll through our refurbishment cycle. I will be giving a similar talk to the Taught Masters Special Interest Group later in the term.

What we’re working on

We have many projects to look forward to enhance our current learning spaces provision and also a large amount of work to complete before the main fit-outs begin in the summer. We are identifying the programme for the current estate we plan to redevelop, alongside tender preparations for the AV and furniture for the Spring Lane Building, Biology Phase 2 and a number of other rooms.

Other updates 

• The completion of the Spring Lane Building steelwork was marked with a ’topping out’ ceremony, attended by the Vice Chancellor and others. The steering group has now settled on final options for the building’s lecture theatre and the plans are being drawn up.
• The new Environment Building has been completed and occupied. Teaching is now taking place within the building, and the lecture theatre is due to be opened imminently.
• The fit-out for the new York Plasma Institute (YPI) extension was completed, adding a 70-seat fully equipped video conferencing lecture theatre and bringing YPI’s staff, students and post-doctoral researchers together under one roof.
• Consultation has begun on the new IPC Piazza Building. Although it’s not due for completion until 2017, we are pleased to be around the table this early in the process.
• The previously postponed V/N/044 and D/056 refurbishments are now rescheduled to take place after Easter and into the Summer Term as this will cause less disruption on the whole. We received some really useful feedback from our survey on these rooms, which I will share in my next blog post.

General comments and feedback are, as always, welcomed via our email learning-spaces@york.ac.uk. If you have any ideas or suggestions on how we could improve please feel free to drop us a line.

Steve Jackson

Learning Spaces Designer/Project Manager

Space Management

Autumn Term round-up

As we approached the end of 2016, we wanted to take the opportunity to update you on the various learning spaces projects under way.

Piazza Building stakeholder meeting

Last week representatives from the main Piazza Building contractor Interserve, Race Cottam Architects and various sub-contractors for mechanical and electrical works, heating, lighting and Building Management Systems (BMS) were brought together with University colleagues from Commercial Services, Information Services, Estates and Campus Services and academic departments.

Throughout the day we held workshops designed to build strong links between all external and internal parties, and work out how we can and will work together to ensure a successful programme of construction and fit out. We identified some key challenges - particularly that there is a lot of work to do in the short term!

This is the first time in recent years that so many teams have come together this early in the process to start identifying issues before they become problems further down the line. It’s fair to say that we all had varying priorities which we can now discuss honestly and openly.

During 2016 we will be consulting more widely with academic colleagues and students - including the new International Pathway College, Students’ Unions, Conferencing and current Heslington East-based departments - about the equipment and furniture to be installed in the seminar rooms and lecture theatre.

Spring Lane Building

Construction continues on the Spring Lane Building - visit our campus investment pages to see a new time-lapse video of the steelwork going up. We have a short workshop on chalk writing surfaces coming up later in the month! We’ll share more news and in-depth update in the New Year.

Focused estates investment

Unfortunately, following feedback and concerns about the knock-on effect on teaching, we have had to put the planned works in V/N044 and D/056 on hold. We will identify future opportunities to do the work and update you again in the New Year.

Can you help?

Have you seen some technology or furniture you would like to see in learning spaces here at York? Do you have a suggestion for improvements that we could make? As always, we would love to hear your thoughts - send your views to learning-spaces@york.ac.uk.

Season’s greetings from everyone in Space Management - we look forward to working with you in 2016!

Steve Jackson

Learning Spaces Designer/Project Manager

Making our mark on the Piazza Building

Last week we began the detailed design process for the Piazza Building, the new home for the International Pathway College which will also provide additional, high-quality learning spaces for many subjects - in particular the Management School, Law, TFTV and Computer Science.

You can find out more about the Piazza Building on our campus investment pages, and see the layout and initial design plans at the Learning Spaces Roadshow.

We’ll be tailoring the space for the subjects taking place within the building and bringing design lessons from the Spring Lane building group, including:

• high quality teaching walls, enabling collaboration and creativity
• plentiful and high-quality informal learning/study spaces within the building
• good sight lines and angles in the lecture theatre and twin projection

The building will also house a large scale restaurant for staff and student residents and visitors - a perfect complement to the Heslington East campus!

Want to take a closer look at these plans and have your say? Make sure you come along to the next Learning Spaces Roadshow event this Thursday, from 2.00pm to 5.00pm in the Ron Cooke Hub Atrium.