What we've learned

Sasaki Associates’ 14-month engagement with Case Western Reserve on the university’s master-planning process includes a variety of data-gathering efforts, including:

• a campuswide survey to assess how people use and move across our surroundings;
• a faculty-only survey to determine how and where professors work together;
• a faculty-only form that allowed for qualitative feedback on their working and teaching conditions;
• in-person stakeholder interviews;
• monthly meetings;
• group discussions; and
• open forums.

As part of this initial research, Sasaki Associates determined areas of campus used regularly for socializing, studying and transportation, as well as the perceived quality of classrooms, labs, dining and residence halls, and much more.

In addition, they gathered quantitative data on the amounts of square footage dedicated to particular areas, such as classrooms, research labs, offices and parking, to name a few. They then used that data to compare how the space we have compares to other institutions. For instance, Case Western Reserve has 384.3 square feet of non-residential space per student; Johns Hopkins has 178.3 while Ohio State has 271.9. For classroom space, CWRU has 17.1 square feet per student; in comparison, Brown has slightly more at 20.1 while Ohio State has 10.1 square feet per student.

Together, the qualitative data gathered and the feedback from the campus community through surveys, meetings and open forums will help Sasaki determine ways in which we might use our space more effectively.

As Sasaki Associates shares its findings with the public, these presentations will be available on this website.