Angarano and Evans Speak at 2018 SUNY PPAA Conference

Susanne Angarano, Principal and Senior Interior Designer, and Jason Evans, Associate Principal, presented “Repurposing Mid-Century Campus Buildings for a New Generation” at the SUNY / PPAA & NY APPA 2018 Summer Conference in Lake Placid, NY on June 14, 2018. Susanne and Jason were joined by Mohamed Afify, Assistant Director, Long Term Planning, at Binghamton University.

The Presentation
College campuses across New York State experienced a building boom in the 1950’s and 60’s, built to serve a swelling student population in relatively quick fashion. As campuses rush to keep up with rapidly-evolving social and learning environments, the buildings constructed for a previous generation’s needs and expectations are starting to show their age. These older buildings’ worth is not yet lost, though, as they are prime candidates to be reinvented for a future generation of students and faculty.

This presentation digs deeply into both the value and the shortcomings of a typical mid-century academic building on Binghamton University’s campus, akin to many that can be found on other campuses across the state. Using this building as a case study, the team will walk through an analysis of its existing conditions, thermal performance, and academic usage, paralleling each with the trends and expectations of today’s educational environments. Via detailed visioning and programming exercises involving the architect and stakeholders from the campus, a clear direction and aspirations for the building and its future were formulated. The team will explain this process, and how the aspirations were carried through to create a vibrant, dynamic series of spaces housed within a modernized, re-clad building – a formerly underutilized, underperforming building now a shining example of excellence for a future generation of learning.