Q. What's involved in Space Planning and Programming?

A. The skills involved in a good spatial analysis and programme are considerable and at several levels:

• Strategic Planning analysis

• Organisational /structural analysis

• Personnel inventories - assessing numbers and effectiveness of staff

• Existing spatial auditing

• Present and future programme projection planning

• Future staffing and student projection planning

• Prediction of spatial needs - against national and international space standards

• Evaluation of spatial/programme need projections against budget considerations

• Overall evaluation of space and organisational requirements

• Evaluation of available and appropriate spaces to meet needs

• Evaluation of cost effectiveness of different spatial options and configurations

• Recommendations of spatial provisions and organisations to meet programme, budget and institutional requirements.

All of this requires an ability to:

• Listen to institutional and staff concerns and to see patterns of discomfort and/or possibilities

• Conduuct a thorough and effective Space Audit - part of what used to be called Post-Occupancy Evaluation.

• Good observational skills in assessing spatial and environmental impact or influence on personal and institutional behaviour

• An understanding of international space standards

• An ability to review potential spaces and to match these to programmatic requiirements

• An ability to design spatial arrangements that are functional and cost effective

• An ability to project manage space provision and development for programme delivery

If you are planning on implementing a new programme or need to now what its spatial needs might be contact me.

Developing a Space Brief

Irrespective of the educational philosophy one espouses, or the pedagogical form associated with it, the matching of spatial and pedagogical and educational programme requirements is crucial to the successful implementation of a new programme. The international literature and research into the relationship between spatial organisatiopn and educational outcomes is extensive, and the international data onspace and facilities standards is equally large. Inn the United States, for instance, most States have their own space standards for Educational institutes, and even many Universities have their own standards and facilities managers. Notable examples are:

• Carnegie Mellon University
• North Carolina University
• The University of California
• The Oregon University system
• Florida State Universities
• Montana State Universities.
  

In these standards, different kinds of pedagogical activity have different amounts of space allocated to them. In addition, special relationships between different activities are often described in design and planning details.The United States Government also produces comparisons of the space planning standards and classroom space utilisations. In Canada, British Columbia has its owjn extensive space standards, and closer to home, in Australia, the Australasian Association of Higher Education Facilities Officers have their own Space Planning Guidelines.

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