February 2020 update

Swing space

During January, the design team continued planning for “swing space”. As stated earlier, swing space includes the areas where the occupants of the HT building will move while construction in HT takes place. Some programs will move temporarily while other programs will move permanently. The design of swing space is quite involved. It considers the temporary locations, including temporary modular building units, the tenant improvements (physical space changes) of existing spaces on campus, technological and furniture needs for each program, and move coordination. The design team is working to ensure that the moves for the different programs align with accessibility needs, academic calendar, school breaks, etc. The swing space plan aims to ease disruption to class scheduling and avoid interruptions as much as possible during construction.

Each Division Dean will provide information to their teams regarding the specifics of the currently identified impact for their individual program. At the Share Fair, participants will find information about the entire project as it is currently defined.  As the process of design advances throughout 2020, more details will be available for sharing. P&CC and the design team will be available to provide information and to answer questions at the Share Fair.

HT sustainability workshops

Approximately 150 PCC students, faculty, and staff joined us at four sessions for the HT Sustainability Workshops on January 15, 16, and 17. Although the agenda for these workshops was identical, the conversations held at each session were influenced by the attendees’ interests and passions, which were rich and diverse. District employees, interested students, staff, and faculty joined the following groups of students and instructors: Introduction to Sustainability, Introduction of Residential Design, Introduction to Building Systems, Exercise Science Fitness and Aging, Principles of Architectural Design, and Active and Passive Building Systems. The participants explored system-wide questions as well as focused on specific topics related to sustainability practices. In summary, these engaged participants left the design team with feedback on how the physical spaces, their physical systems, the expectation for their performance, and the occupants’ behavior influence and affect not only the natural environment but also the people who occupy these spaces. We are grateful for having such a strong turnout at these workshops.