Leah Wortham, Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America

CUA examples of multiple use plans:

--We didn=t have the budget for a large auditorium which we would use only occasionally. Rooms 204/205 have a soundproof divider that is removed to create the large room in which the plenary was held. Caveats: Many room dividers are not really soundproof, but this system (borrowing from the 1960s design at Columbia law school) is. Some faculty don=t find the size and shape of Room 204 and 205 with its steeper pitch and 1/4 pie shape as desirable for teaching as the 211, 213, 305, and 307 with their wider wraps and less steep pitch.

--The atrium design was selected to allow natural light into all spaces, but it has proved to be an enormously useful space that can be adapted to large receptions, smaller receptions, a dinner, a dance, silent auction tables, seating with chairs for programs, and so on. Design of a good sound system has been a challenge. After completion, we realized a rheostat on the lights would have been a good idea.

--Halls are wide to allow lingering and gathering spaces between classes, but these wide halls also provide for small receptions adjacent to a speaker in a classroom. For large functions, we can have multiple food and drink stations around the building. We even have had luncheons in the open areas on the second and third floor.

--Both court rooms can be adapted for appellate or trial. The larger court room is designed so it could be adapted (by turning the counsel tables around) to appear as a two tier hearing room as in a congressional or city council hearing. The location of the judge and jury rooms mean either or both could serve either court room (but the sound proofing of those rooms has presented a problem for that use). The judge jury rooms are also designed to serve as seminar and simulation rooms, but they have proved to be a bit small for that purpose.

--Faculty offices are of as equal size as possible. Two secretaries are in a faculty office with office landscaping. This was done in part to allow the possibility of moving secretaries to locations adjacent to faculty they serve. After experience, it=s doubtful that the logistics of that would ever work--faculty don=t want to move, secretarial locations are those the faculty would not want, the staff and their supervisor like having them closer together, there are other variables in deciding staff assignment. But the equality of faculty offices has other advantages as well.

--Interview rooms on the first floor serve LCS in the interview season and are designed to function as simulation rooms for interviewing and counseling spaces and overflow interview space for the clinic.

--Consider fewer walls and more office landscaping. Have the architect explain what is involved in reconfiguring the modular units. It likely will require redesign by the outside company, their staff to install, and electrical changes. That, however, still may be easier, cheaper, and lead to a better product that taking down walls and trying to make former furniture fit.

--Point at certain walls and ask about the expense and process of moving them. Ask for an explanation of whether the lighting, electrical, and other technology systems will present problems in making such moves.

--In several locations of the CUA building, e.g., the admissions office and the clinics, counters were built a long a wall to allow for multiple functions, e.g., different numbers of people working in the space, assembly or layout.

--When you are being brutal about getting within budget, you may be tempted to slash under-utilized spaces. Extra faculty offices and spaces of the type and in the location that could be annexed for offices for a special project will find a use sooner than you think.

--Anticipate things coming down the pike soon and consider a Amedium need@ space as a place holder. We anticipated a third law journal. Our original plan was for a conference room for the journals. Even before construction that space had become the third journal=s offices.

--All CUA furniture and fabrics were from common families of materials and colors. When we moved in, occupants could send back to the general pool any piece they found they could not use. People also could request pieces they needed. We accommodated every need by switches among offices, but we could not have done this if the furniture had not been so harmonious.

--Faculty were all given three basic pieces in the same wood: a desk, credenza, and computer stand. They were allowed to choose four steel case pieces of identical size with their preferences for a file cabinet, cabinet with doors, or book case. They could choose finishing their office in one of four designs: a large work table, two upholstered chairs, a couch, or a round meeting table. For the chair or couch options, they could choose upholstery. They were given choices of four desk chairs with upholstery choices for each and a choice of four desk lamps. This means all the offices have interchangeable pieces, but these variations mean that offices look quite different from each other. Helping faculty make these choices took a great deal of my time, but I felt the result was worth it in faculty satisfaction. Many faculty had so much difficulty with these limited choices that there is no way I would consider just giving people a budget to choose furnishings. (That also creates tremendous reuse problems.)

--All classroom chairs are the same (and movable chairs) which allows them to be shifted from place to place. The classrooms have a generous allowance per student for classroom use, but additional chairs can be put in for lectures.

--Easily accessible electrical outlets in as many places as possible can come in very handy. Consider what you might need for a special event, not just a classroom use.

--Consider where conduit is going so wires can be pulled for phones, computers, or electrical current. You want to avoid cutting into a wall or floor to make a change. Anticipate a technological change that you might want to make in a classroom or another space. While still in the planning stage, ask the architect what it would take to run a phone line or a computer connection to that location.

--Consider whether the lighting in a room will present a problem for a technology change. Are there ways to separate banks of lights and dim them for an overhead projector? Are there blinds on the windows to shut out daylight? Is there light that can be added for a quality video taping?

--CUA has added the locked Acages@ in space unusable for parking spaces in the garage and a large raw space Aattic@ off the copy room.

--Consider storage spaces adjacent to locations where certain types of equipment will be used, e.g., lecterns, folding banquet tables.

--The south (classroom) wing of the CUA building has supports sufficient to hold another floor.

--The garage space under the north (library) wing of the CUA building has a ceiling height sufficient to add another floor of library. There is a pop out in the second floor such that another section of the central stair case could be added. The elevator goes down to that level.