Concerns over parking at LSU, making it easier to get into and off campus, and expanding the amount of space for social interactions were among the requests and ideas presented by stakeholders at LSU during their meetings over three days with two lead planners from nationally recognized design firm NBBJ’s Columbus, Ohio, office.
Kim Way, a principal and urban planner at the Columbus office, and Dennis Brandon, a principal and health care consultant with years of experience in campus and facility planning, were joined by members of LSU’s Student Government, Faculty Senate, administration and working groups to discuss parameters, ideas and the scope of the updated master plan that NBBJ has been selected to craft for the flagship campus.
LSU’s last master plan was created in 2003, and while it is still in use, administrators have stressed the need for an updated plan.
“Each one of those groups seemed very excited about the information NBBJ presented at the meetings,” says Tammy Millican, LSU’s Planning, Design and Construction Department director, who sat in on every meeting. In addition to the student suggestions, faculty members talked with the planners about how they can have more interaction in the classrooms with students using technology.
“Every one of these groups offered some great suggestions, and there were some good conversations around the table,” Millican says.
The next step in the process with be finalizing the contract between LSU and NBBJ, which could happen around early to mid-January. Then NBBJ architects and planners can begin what is expected to be an 18-month project to craft a new master plan for LSU.
Between now and then, Millican says some of the smaller firms assisting NBBJ with issues like parking, transportation and student life are expected to return to campus to report their findings to the same groups that met with NBBJ this week. Those reports will be sent to NBBJ to be incorporated into the final master plan.
NBBJ was chosen from four master planning firms that responded to a request for proposals and made public pitches in September. Other master planning firm finalists vying for the work were Cannon Design, Perkins + Will, and Sasaki.
With 11 offices worldwide, NBBJ has more than 750 employees and its previous clients include Alibaba, Amazon, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Boeing, Cambridge University, Cleveland Clinic, GlaxoSmithKline, Microsoft, Reebok, Samsung, Stanford University and Starbucks, among many others.
—Ryan Broussard
