Reimagining Shopping Malls for Education Spaces
We have been conversing here in the office about how to help our education clients (K-12 and Higher Ed) adjust for social distancing. There has been dialogue about reduced class sizes, installing shields or dividers, staggering start times or attendance days, cohorts, distance learning...but almost everything we are discussing has revolved around fitting new requirements into existing school buildings that were designed for denser occupancy.
Then we saw this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/06/09/retail-store-closure-mall/ , which got us thinking - there are building types temporarily or permanently sitting idle as a result of the pandemic. When hospitals needed more space, architects helped to quickly design temporary field hospitals in empty convention centers, hotels, parking lots. Should we be doing something similar for schools? Could a mall with shuttered retail stores be repurposed to provide large classrooms that would allow typical class sizes to be seated farther apart (and the anchor store spaces could hold socially distanced band classes, lectures/assemblies, or no-contact fitness activities)? Could we install modular classrooms inside a convention center hall to allow twice as much classroom space to hold the same number of students at recommended spacing? Could movie theaters broadcast lectures for college students who have been displaced off campus? How can socially distanced housing (that still provides the sense of community that is so important to the collegiate experience) be accommodated for colleges and universities that are open for on-campus learning?
We recognize that there are layers of challenges to repurposing spaces, including up-front financial investments, code compliance, safety and security, providing transportation to new or multiple locations, and uncertainty about the permanence of the need for these alternate spaces. Recent occurrences have directed us to think differently, to think creatively, and to think in collaboration with our educational partners. Having these discussions can help us find ways to move forward in uncharted territory.
We invite you to join in the discussion with us, whether you are an educator, administrator, student, business leader, developer, designer, or other concerned community member: What underutilized spaces could be repurposed for education? What kind of partnerships are possible to help both institutions of learning and other industries impacted by the quarantine?