Renovating an Existing Classroom or Planning a new Classroom
Preparing for a new classroom or a major renovation of an existing classroom is a collaborative process and enables the college to provide high-quality, state-of-the-art teaching and learning spaces for students, faculty, and instructors. In planning for this type of space, there are many key details to consider that will affect the overall use of the space long after the space is constructed, including location, layout, furniture, technology and more.
This document is designed to:
- Provide over-arching principles and considerations to assist in classroom planning and design.
- Ensure that new classrooms meet the needs of the institution.
- Share best practices (and a few lessons learned) from recently constructed classrooms on the Dartmouth campus.
This document applies to general purpose classrooms (room type 110) only, such as traditional classrooms, lecture halls and auditoriums, and seminar rooms. It does not apply to computer labs or highly specialized class labs.
GUIDELINES FOR PLANNING & DESIGN
High-quality instructional space supports the college’s core academic mission and ensures that, as an institution, Dartmouth is providing faculty and students with the proper resources to meet continually changing teaching and learning needs. When designing classrooms spaces for the future the following guiding principles should be considered.
All college classrooms should:
- Enrich the student’s learning experience and faculty/instructor teaching experience.
- Have room layouts, furniture, and equipment that satisfy current and future pedagogical needs of the majority of the faculty and not inhibit use of the classroom for instruction by other departments.
- Provide a flexible configuration, when feasible, to enable students and instructors to change room layout to meet individual class needs.
- Be placed in building locations that are easy to locate and in close proximity to formal or informal gathering spaces to promote student and faculty interaction.
- Be located adjacent to one another when multiple classrooms are being planned, if possible. Co-location of classrooms creates a sense of vibrancy and community, allows for easier maintenance and access to the spaces, and provides more flexibility in the future when the space may need to be renovated or reconfigured.
- Be available for use by other campus departments when not scheduled for classes.
- Comply with all applicable accessibility, building and fire safety regulations, and master design specifications and guidelines.