Input Sought for Renovations on Campus
In Agora, students tack stickers onto poster boards to indicate the changes they desire to see on Exeter’s campus. As part of a larger initiative to design a new masterplan—a long-term plan to renovate campus spaces—the administration asked students for feedback on what roles various spaces on Exeter’s campus fulfilled, and which spaces were most in need of change.
On Sept. 20, the master plan proposal was initially presented to Dean’s Council. After a discussion where student housing and renovation of the Academy Building came at the forefront, members of Dean’s Council suggested to open the conversation up to the rest of the student body. Last week, consultants from Beyer Blinder Belle, a well-known architecture firm based in New York City, set up large poster boards in the campus’s common spaces for student feedback.
Agora was divided into seven stations: Introduction to the Campus Master Plan, Campus Life (Common Spaces, Day Student Integration and Housing), Dining, Landscape/Sustainability, a Mapping Exercise (for boarding students, day students, faculty and staff), a Polling Station and Adaptive Reuse Spaces.
Beyer Blinder Belle consultants explained that they hoped to ensure that the physical campus matched the evolution of the needs of the student body. “The intent [is] establishing a framework for addressing both the short-term and long-term needs and aspirations for the Academy and its physical footprint,” they said. “This framework will allow the campus to continue its evolution in accommodating the changing needs of the 21st century.”
Beyer Blinder Belle consultants added that the student input was necessary to “the campus planning framework through identifying not only critical campus issues and space needs, but also strategic opportunities to align campus and facility decision making with the mission of Phillips Exeter Academy.”
The Campus Master Plan will be separated into three phases. Phase One, the current research phase from July to December 2019, is called “Discovery, Programming, & Analysis.” Phase Two, the drafting of the Campus Master Plan, will include cost-estimates and building scenarios and last from January to May of 2020. Phase Three will finalize documentation and goals under the approval of the Academy from June to October of 2020.
Based on the timeline established for the Master Plan, there was some discussion among the students regarding the application of the results. Upper Carly Mae Buckner said, “I think it was great that they are inviting us as students to participate in the master plan and give feedback, but I do think it’s sad the master plan won’t be finalized until some of us have already graduated. I think that they could involve us in plans that are more current.”
During the collection of student opinion, the on-site activities prompted students to think of places they enjoyed and used the most on campus. One activity board asked students to mark their favorite common spaces, to which most responded the Elizabeth Phillips Academy Center. Then, students were asked for their favorite and least favorite attributes of their dorm, to which most responded their favorite attribute to be the people inside and their least favorite attributes to be bathrooms, small common rooms and a lack of kitchen access.
Students appreciated the open discussion from the administration. Lower Jasper Knabe said, “I thought it was great that they were getting feedback from the students.” This sentiment seemed to be echoed through the student body as many participated on the Agora posters.
However, some felt that there was not enough publicity surrounding the polls in agora. Prep Kiara Odums said, “I feel like it wasn’t brought to our attention. I think that the reason many students don’t know about it was because it wasn’t advertised well.”
Collaboration between the Academy, Beyer Blind Belle and student voices will all be conducive towards creating a new Campus Master Plan. Students can expect to see the new vision for their campus by the fall of 2020.