Have you ever walked into a brand-new building and thought, “Wow, this is impressive”? Now imagine walking into that same building five years later at 2 a.m. because the HVAC system isn't working. You probably have a different perspective.
For most people, a new student residence hall is exciting. There are ribbon cuttings, tours, photographs, students moving into their rooms and plenty of people admiring the finished product.
For Facilities, the view is a little different. We see the beautiful new lobby, but we also see the access panel behind it. We notice where the mechanical equipment is located, how someone will get to it when it needs service, where the shutoff valves are, how does trash make it to the dumpster and whether the ceiling can be opened without creating a bigger problem.
That isn't because Facilities staff doesn't appreciate a beautiful building. We do. It is because opening the building is only the beginning.
The Ribbon Cutting Is a Milestone, Not the Finish Line
Construction projects naturally focus on getting to opening day. Was the project completed on schedule? Did it stay within budget? Did it receive its approvals? Is it ready for students? Those are important questions. However, once the ribbon is cut, the questions change.
Can the building be maintained efficiently? Can technicians safely access the equipment? Can a failed component be replaced without taking apart half the room? Can the building systems be understood by someone who wasn't involved in the original construction?
And perhaps the most important question:
Will this building still work well years after everyone has stopped taking pictures of it?
That is where the Facilities perspective becomes important.
Design for the Person Who Will Be There at 2 a.m.
Nobody thinks about the HVAC technician at 2 a.m. when they are looking at a beautiful rendering of a residence hall. The technician, however, is very much thinking about that building at 2 a.m. when something stops working.
A designer might see a clean ceiling. A technician may be thinking, “How exactly am I supposed to get to that?” A sophisticated building automation system may look great on a screen, but someone still has to understand what it is telling them when the system isn't cooperating.
Equipment may fit perfectly into the design, but that doesn't mean it will be easy to maintain or that replacement parts will be available years later.
These are not the things students notice when they walk through a residence hall for the first time and nor should they be. They are the things Facilities personnel notice when something breaks. Good design isn't just about how a building works when everything is working. It is also about how the building can be repaired when something isn't.
The Cheapest Decision Isn't Always the Least Expensive Decision
Every university project has a budget. There are always more needs than dollars, and every decision has consequences. That makes cost control important. It is critical to understand that there is a vast difference between first cost and lifecycle cost.
Saving money during construction can sometimes create additional costs later through more complicated maintenance, difficult access, higher energy use, specialized parts or equipment that is expensive to replace.
This doesn't mean the answer is to spend more money on everything. The goal should be to spend the right money on the right things at the right time. A slightly different piece of equipment, a better access point or a more maintainable system may have little impact on that opening-day photograph but those items would have a significant impact in the next 10 or 20 years.
The question shouldn't always be, “What does this cost today?” Sometimes the better question is, “What will this cost us to own?”
Invite Facilities to the Conversation Before There Is a Problem
Facilities should not be brought into a project only when something needs to be fixed. By then, the most expensive part of the decision has often already been made. Facilities can provide valuable perspective during programming, design, equipment selection, technology planning, commissioning and turnover.
That doesn't mean Facilities should become the department of “no.” In fact, I think the opposite is true. Facilities should be the department of “know.”
Know how something will be maintained. Know what happens when it fails. Know who will service it. Know what happens when technology becomes obsolete. Know what it will take to replace it. Know whether the building can adapt when the needs of the institution change.
The goal isn't to eliminate new ideas. The goal is to help make good ideas work for the long term.
Design for More Than One Generation of Students
A student may live in a residence hall for one year to four years.
Facilities may be responsible for that same building for decades.
During that time, students, employees, technology, budget and institutional priorities will change.
What students consider an essential amenity today may be something completely different 10 years from now. So flexibility matters.
The best building isn't necessarily the one with the most features. It is the one that can continue to serve its purpose as the world around it changes. That requires thinking beyond the opening. It means asking not only, “What do we need today?” but also, “What might we need tomorrow, and can this building adapt?”
The Real Measure of Success
I loved celebrating Florida Tech’s Crimson Crossing’s ribbon cutting. New student housing should be celebrated. Students deserve safe, comfortable and welcoming places to live, learn and build community.
But opening day is not the finish line, and the real test comes after the ceremony ends and the cake is long eaten.
It comes when the first major piece of equipment needs to be replaced, or when a technician is troubleshooting a problem in the middle of the night. It comes when new technology needs to be integrated, or when a budget gets tight. It comes when the building needs to do something nobody anticipated when the original drawings were drafted.
That is when the decisions made years earlier begin to matter.
The best student housing doesn't simply make a great first impression. It keeps making a good impression long after the ribbon has been cut.
Don't just design the building you want to open. Design the building you want to operate.
