When many of us went to college, no matter how beautiful the campus, the dining hall was for dining only, with few choices on offer; the snack bars served bad coffee; the gym was generic with old equipment. But if you’ve visited a college campus recently, you know how luxurious new facilities can be. There are athletic centers that could train Olympians, and wellness facilities that rival those at a luxury spa. Elegant dining halls serve an array of farm-to-table cuisines, to fulfill almost every dietary desire. There are cozy spots scattered around campuses to snack, lounge, study, or just hang out. Gone are the damp gyms and noisy cafeterias of a more spartan era of college life—at least at many private and some public institutions. Like high-powered tech companies today, top colleges and universities compete to attract talent, and the quality of design—not only of laboratories and libraries but of communal spaces—is part of the draw.
In this issue, we look at projects in the college and university sector by some of America’s finest architectural firms. And if there is a common thread among the projects here—for science or art programs, or for the general population—it is that the architects sought to include light-filled social spaces that allow students and faculty to interact, or just to get away from their labs or desks to sit quietly with their laptops and enjoy a cup of coffee and a view to the outdoors.
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