The topic for the research is focussed on establishing a new working procedure to help universities improve the way they use and manage space. This research is important to the higher education sector for two reasons. Adopting this new procedure will help space planners achieve improved space efficiency with associated cost savings but more importantly it achieves the efficiencies in ways that complement how staff wish to deliver teaching and how students wish to learn. The current space planning methodology within the sector predicts and controls space use through a spreadsheet based application that calculates demand by multiplying student numbers by a space norm. Specifically the aim of the research is to develop a collaborative space planning methodology that engenders academic commitment to effect space utilisation efficiency. The central research question posed was to understand if such a radically different approach to space planning, that considers the variable concept of the learning interaction, can improve space utilisation. The research to develop the space planning framework is presented in the form of a case study within a university faculty. The ontological and epistemological position reflected by the methodology moves away from positivism’s experimental approach that attempts to prove through a quantitative assessment of space that a faculty has too much or too little space. The research strategy is positioned within a very different participatory paradigm. (Onwuegbuzie, Johnson and Collins, 2009, p.122) The methodology encourages the space planner to reflect on a much wider interpretation of the definition of an effective learning environment. The qualitative data gathered through the case study was developed through action research, specifically co-operative inquiry. The process of engaging the stakeholders is the new learning presented by this research. Overall the department that was the focus of the case study believes the resources provided and planned for in the immediate future will meet the requirements of the proposed curriculum plan. In addition, the net internal area proposed for the department will be significantly lower, 17% less than the base case assessment calculated through the use of traditional space norms. The research suggests that this different methodology can improve space efficiency and contribute to improving the planning procedures within an educational organisation. The findings of the research were subject to validation by space management practitioners within the University of Gloucestershire and external sector experts. Further research is proposed through the Association of University Directors of Estate (AUDE).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:617687 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Wichall, Nigel C. |
| Contributors | Sullivan, Kerry ; Turnbull, Sharon |
| Publisher | University of Gloucestershire |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://eprints.glos.ac.uk/648/ |
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