Technology-Enabled Teaching >> If You Build It, We Should Come

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Technology-Enabled Teaching >> If You Build It, We Should Come

6/28/2005

By Will Craig

Building the Right Project Team

The cast of characters in the drama that is building construction or renovation is never the same twice, and can often change during a several-year project, both in structure and in composition. Here are the main players in a “typical” project:

Campus representatives. Building projects are usually headed up by members of the administration and/or facilities groups. While technology is often recognized as an important project component, the campus planning and construction staff focuses most of its attention on the other 97 to 99 percent of the budget that d'es not include technology (go figure!). Technology representatives are brought in at some point, sometimes during the initial programming phase. But amazingly, at other times they’re involved after construction plans are complete and the network drop locations, data closets, and server rooms have already been placed on the drawings.

Exactly who the campus technology representatives are, and which technologies and whose interests they represent, depends on the organization of the campus technology departments. At the University of Minnesota, for instance, Steve Fitzgerald is the director of Classroom Management (www.classroom.umn.edu), which is an organization created to meet the needs of educators and learners by coordinating construction of new classroom spaces and maintaining, upgrading, and supporting existing classrooms on campus. “We’re in contact with students, faculty, custodians, campus planners, hotline support operators, and room schedulers,” says Fitzgerald, but adds, “We’re unusual in that the Office of Classroom Management provides the one voice that represents all sides.”

Other institutions provide a range of technology representatives to project teams, which can include structured cabling and networking specialists, telephony/telecommunications staff, AV designers, distance learning specialists, and security video and alarm specialists.

Besides the campus technology specialists, there are often faculty or departmental experts who have specific requests with respect to technology implementation in new building projects. Their expertise can be very useful in the early phases of design (especially in the planning of science buildings), and can prevent costly redesign or rework in making spaces appropriate for equipment or systems.

Design professionals. The design team is usually led by an architect, and typically, the architect leads the campus administration and facilities representatives in the programming phase, which is where the needs of the campus are identified and presented in a written and graphical program. The program covers the needs of space (square footage), number and capacities of classrooms and offices, and spatial affinities both within the building and between the new building and the rest of campus.

Once a program has been established and the architect is ready to start setting pen to paper, a project team is assembled. Structural, mechanical, and electrical engineers are brought in to begin fleshing out the details of the design. Landscape and interior architects are tasked with their respective design responsibilities. Consultants are hired to provide specific services, which vary according to need but can include technological disciplines, food service, and wayfinding.