Process
The Master Plan team is composed of Columbia College Chicago
staff working with professionals from the fields of architecture,
campus planning, real estate planning, and higher education
planning. Over the course of a year, the team has
worked to develop a detailed understanding of
Columbia’s current campus use, the challenges
posed by continuing enrollment growth, and
the desire to improve the quality of its learning
facilities and student experience. This understanding
is what allows the team to make recommendations that will best
help Columbia achieve its Columbia 2010 goals.
The Master Plan team’s recommendations were
informed by a variety of data-collecting strategies. The
studies were undertaken concurrently. These included:
Research: Stakeholder Interviews
The design team interviewed members of the
board of trustees, administration, deans, faculty,
staff, student and alumni representatives and
community leaders and officials about Columbia’s
current performance as an educational institution
and individual visions for the future of Columbia. The
opinions voiced during these conversations were
instrumental in developing a full understanding of the
needs of the campus.
RESEARCH: Campus Survey
The design team conducted a survey of Columbia’s
current campus buildings to create a data bank. Each
of Columbia’s twelve buildings was surveyed
for condition, use, and distribution of space to
academic departments and schools. The design
team also interviewed the facility managers of
each department to assess how well the current
facilities are satisfying departmental needs and what
improvements are necessary or desired. Please see the
Appendix for a complete record of Campus Survey results.
RESEARCH: Benchmarking
As Columbia develops its national reputation, it is
competing more and more with other institutions
for students. The benchmarking study compared
Columbia College Chicago to similar institutions
across the United States. The schools selected
for the study are comparably sized or are known
competitors in the field of arts and media education.
Each school responded to a statistical survey, focusing
on the number of students as well as how much and
what type of space is provided for the education of
students (for teaching and for student services). The
survey results establish a reference for Columbia
College Chicago to understand what the “norm” is
for similar institutions and how Columbia might be
evaluated by a prospective student.
The full Benchmarking report can be found in the Appendix.
RESEARCH: Best Practices
Columbia College Chicago has a culture that is defined
by its history, its arts and media orientation, and its
urban location. As the campus continues to grow,
these characteristics distinguish Columbia from most
other colleges. The Master Plan team sought out
campus buildings at other institutions that provide
lessons to be learned. The design team prepared a
series of case studies on several recently completed
campus center-type facilities. The studies focused
on three areas: the building program and the
connection between academic and student space,
the use of iconic architecture as a communicator
of campus identity, and the relationship to the
surrounding urban context.
A summary of the Best Practices study can be found on page 25; the full
report is available in the Appendix.
RESEARCH: Neighborhood Mapping
An inventory was taken of the neighborhood in
and around the Columbia College Chicago campus.
Locations of transportation services, nearby
educational institutions, restaurants, stores and
shops serving the student population, and historic
architecture were collected and mapped. These
maps show where community infrastructure needs
development. The design team responded to many
anecdotes about the challenges of sustaining campus
facilities over areas distant from each other by
comparing the size and scale of Columbia’s campus
with other campuses in the Chicago region.
RESEARCH: Cognitive Mapping
The team’s market research consultant conducted a
survey that sought to understand the way students
use the campus. Specifically, students described their
arrival, use of, and departure from campus. The results
provided a clear understanding of the movement
of Columbia’s students over the course of an
average day, including where they arrive on campus
and at what time, how much time they spend in which
buildings and on which activities.
RESEARCH: Brainstorming
The design team gathered experts in the areas of
South Loop real estate, real estate development,
campus planning, and marketing for a day-long
session to discuss the future of Columbia College
Chicago and its plan for growth. The brainstorming
discussions came to focus on six primary topics:
the educational experience, the Columbia College
Chicago community, the financial plan, Columbia’s
outside image, the campus plan, and the South Loop
neighborhood. While many of the comments voiced
during the brainstorming session affirmed our other
research of the campus, some insights were unique,
pointing to unexpected ways to ealize the Columbia
2010 goals.
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DESIGN: Campus Identity
Based on research findings and the Columbia 2010
goals, the design team developed recommendations
for increasing Columbia’s presence in the South
Loop. These recommendations include consolidating
the campus and using various “branding” techniques
to promote Columbia’s identity.
These recommendations are discussed in depth in the “Rethinking the
Cognitive Campus” and “Projecting Columbia’s Identity” sections of this
document.
DESIGN : Building Projects Sequence
After determining the amount of additional space
needed at Columbia, the team created and tested
a series of possible solutions to challenges for
future growth. These solutions were reviewed with
Columbia’s stakeholders to confirm that all facets of
the problems of growing in the South Loop can be
resolved. From there, the best solution was further
developed and priced for construction.
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Research 
DePaul University’s student center contains
the classic functions of a
campus student union: a
large gathering room, a food
court, and offices for student
government or clubs. This
student center is a clubhouse for students
and does not contain academic spaces. The
architecture matches surrounding buildings.
The City University of New York’s Baruch College has
recently completed a “Vertical
Campus” - a center that gathers the
primary functions of a traditional
campus center and academic
program spaces as well as student
services, student life functions,
and administrative offices all into
a single vertical building. The
Vertical Campus is a center of
activity for up to 4,000 students
at a given time, placing student
amenities at the heart of the
campus.
The Kimball Center for University Life at New
York University (NYU) contains the traditional
functions of a student center
with emphasis on artsrelated
functions including
rehearsal and performance
space and a large theater. NYU’s student services
and student life functions are also in the Kimball
Center. The center’s location adjacent to Washington
Square Park gives it a position of significance for
the surrounding neighborhood, acting as a hub
for exhibiting studio work and performance.