Pierce Allston_Campus of the Future Submission

The goal of the project is to blend the boundaries of classrooms, buildings, campuses, schools, and the surrounding community of Ann Arbor. The Campus of the Future is unique for every individual, serving the needs of everyone & anyone.

The campus of the future will more efficient1. Separate buildings are not necessary for a scholarly campus. The Campus of the future, however, will be built on the premise of efficient learning, planning2 and optimizing the layout of the complex network3 of systems. Programs that once existed in isolation, such as department buildings and discipline quads, are now a part of the whole campus programmatically and physically. There is no one who is unable to learn or attend the University of Michigan, integrating the community of Ann Arbor into the campus, as well as serving anyone, and everyone who wishes to be a part of the rich an illustrious heritage just as the buildings, classrooms, and ‘Diags’ are integrated into the complex whole.

The open university aspect allows students to attend from anywhere, allowing them to call in to their classes, and meet with teachers whichever way they’d like. Like the World’s Fair or Olympics, which is the showcase of the cream of the crop, bringing in people from all corners of the earth, the Campus of the Future aims showcase the possibility of knowledge, but for all ages. Laid out in the most efficient and useful manner, focusing on spaces that serve more than just one need, instead of a classroom that can only hold 20 students. The adjacencies of spaces lead to the adjacencies of learning, of discipline, of students. The Campus of the Future will utilize spaces that change as they need to be, going from an exhibition to a classroom4 in seconds. No need to change buildings5 to go from your lecture to discussion groups but rather morphing and meshing the space you have; aiming to be more flexible and efficient. A complex pattern is situated over the campus, allowing the geometries within to merge with each other, the parts float within the whole.

Architecture’s role is the formalizing of these rooms6 of learning, while also leaving room for adaptability and future expansion. Through architectural juxtaposition, students can mold their very own experience as much or as little as they please, integrating the program and spatial layouts with the variety and every changing curriculum. The Campus of the Future allows for adaptability, efficiency and expansion of the University of Michigan to allow participants to explore the world the possibilities that lie ahead, by attracting all disciplines, and utilizing only the most advanced methods of learning to ensure that the next 200 years will be just as memorable than the last.

1 Efficiency: The streamlined process of getting from course to course.

2 Planning: The overarching conception of how spaces go/will go together.

3 Network: Interconnected strings of being, usually connected with like-minded nodes.

4 Classrooms: An overarching space where similar work gets taught/done.

5 Building: A series of classrooms that are directly, or indirectly associated. Buildings are function for an ever-changing user base.

6 Rooms: Spaces that have no defined program that can shift between program type.

Campus of the Future Proposal 

Superimposed onto Current Campus