New buildings are exciting, but also do not necessarily become instant hubs of student activity. Before the Irving building opened in January 2022, the questions were posed:
What will bring the building to life?
How might we make this building a hub of student activity and a “home” for students with a variety of interests?
Through extensive research, the Design Corps team identified a series of opportunity areas and recommendations that were broken down into three categories: marketing, events and collaborations, and building specifications.
Project Details
Project Partner: Amanda Graham, Academic Director for the Irving Institute, Rosi Kerr, Director of Dartmouth Sustainability Office
Project Timeline: 2 terms
In the fall of 2019, construction began on the new Arthur L. Irving building, which was designed to bring together the Irving Institute, the Sustainability Office, and a variety of other organizations on campus. The building had a projected opening timeline of fall 2021 or winter 2022. However, the directors of Irving Institute and the Sustainability Office were concerned that because the new Arthur L. Irving building was not in the center of campus, students who were not involved with organizations in the building might be unlikely to spend time in it.
A Design Corps team worked with the Irving Institute and the Sustainability Office to understand what draws people into certain buildings and spaces and applied this research to the new Irving Institute building in order to bring it to life and make it a “home” for students with a variety of interests.
In the fall, the student team learned more about the project challenge by studying the individual goals and visions of Irving Institute and the Sustainability Office. Then they began conducting primary and secondary research, and developing creative solutions.
In order to better understand what draws people to a space, the students researched models and suggestions from other organizations including the Stanford’s d.school, Google, and a number of architecture and interior design companies.
The student team also sought to identify what specific features would draw Dartmouth students and organizations to the new Irving building. They conducted a wide-range of interviews, including with undergraduate students, graduate students and campus organizations.
During the winter term, they refined their research with a campus wide student survey that yielded over 145 responses on study habits and preferences and conducted further interviews with potential partners for the Irving Institute (e.g. housing communities, libraries, DDS, Collis, etc.). All of the research was then distilled into insights and recommendations for the Irving Institute.
The Design Corps team produced a series recommendations that were broken down into three categories: marketing, events and collaborations, and building specs.
Marketing: The team’s survey showed that most people had discovered the Irving Institute and new building by word of mouth and very few had heard about it via social media. This presented an opportunity to explore ways to expand the Irving Institute’s engagement and presence in the community through social media. The students outlined a comprehensive Instagram campaign format, inspired by the very successful Dartmouth Library Instagram, which uses a bucketing approach to build a cohesive feed that bolsters a following and a community. They also identified that bathroom signage is an effective form of advertising and compiled tips for the Irving team to use.
Events and Collaborations: Based on their research, the students proposed that the new Irving Institute building should be seen as a rentable and collaborative event space. They recommended maximizing the building’s proximity with West (first year river dorms), Allen (Tuck Drive), and School (Mass Row) Houses to build community with undergraduate students, graduate students, and faculty. Additionally, they identified collaboration potential with departments and classes outside of energy and sustainability to utilize the Irving basement lecture halls and other open spaces. This would create familiarity and routine for students that might otherwise not come to Irving on their own. And finally, they recommended holding open houses and exhibitions in the building, drawing inspiration from Thayer’s Open House.