NorCal Universities Say Build It And They Will Come, Shrugging Off Pandemic

By 2020, university campuses across the country will be largely vacant due to public health orders and related recommendations.

Then turn to virtual learning. According to estimates by the National Bureau of Statistics, by the fall of 2020, the number of college enrollments nationwide has fallen by 3.6% compared with the previous year, or 560,200 students. 

. However, universities in Northern California are preparing for the post-pandemic future, including dormitories full of students.

Only about 1600 students

,

Deputy Prime Minister Marc Fisher said that by 2020, 600 dormitories in student dormitories and campus apartments

Northern California

Digital Summit held on January 19

Jenny Patino, executive director of housing, dining and conferences, said at the event that some students stayed on campus because there was no other place.

Although campus activities were greatly reduced last year, several university leaders who spoke at the summit said they will continue to build new housing. Fisher said that the University of California Berkeley branch is advancing a housing project that will create 1,000 student beds and up to 120 supportive housing. Construction is expected to start in January 2022.

"I don't think we will withdraw from our plan; the Berkeley campus is understaffed." Fisher said. "At some point, the market will heat up again, and we will just need more student beds."

Fisher added: "I think we will continue to work hard to build the 9,000 or so beds we think we need."

Student dormitories and apartments will continue to be

According to Deputy Prime Minister and University Architect Jim Carroll (Jim Carroll).

However, Patino said that in addition to some existing building renovation projects, SF State is pressing the pause button for new buildings due to financial considerations, ongoing uncertainty about vaccine launches and the prospect of infection rates. She said that last year, the university planned nine different potential programs for the fall semester, but none of them were correct.

Patino said: "We must be prepared for anything."

In the Bay Area, already exists

Historically, the crisis has added a layer of complexity to the provision of adequate housing for students.

Owner Patrick Kennedy expressed optimism at the summit to reopen the campus, but he commented that the best way for future student housing development in the area is by reducing “redundant” facilities such as swimming pools and additional lounges. ) To control costs and say "price is the best convenience."

Kennedy also believes that students will return to campus faster than expected. He said that after the University of California, Berkeley announced plans to resume face-to-face classes in the fall semester of 2021, his company applied for an apartment building near the campus within 24 hours. Proposed four times within. This is the first application submitted in two months. 

Kennedy said: "There is nothing more social than American college students." "They yearn for the spirit of companions and comrades, which can never be copied.

screen. "

Even as the project progresses, the epidemic is expected to have a lasting impact on student housing.

Managing director Charles Kahn said his design approach was affected by people's increasing reliance on outdoor spaces for entertainment and social distancing. In the Berkeley student building he is designing, each of the eight-story building will have a deck instead of a roof deck. This facility is called a "necessity" by him. Kahn also expects the rise of the "zoom room" to continue. 

Kahn said: "This is a design feature after the pandemic, I think we can keep it." 

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