Glenside, Pa.

Completion: 2004
Size: 60 acres

This 150-year-old wooded liberal arts campus is 25 minutes from Center City Philadelphia. Its stone castle landmark and nationally ranked study abroad program are among many distinctions of this institution. The University commissioned Ayers/Saint/Gross to help it prepare for efficient growth over a 20-year period. Among the University’s key issues are how to meet the immediate need for student housing and faculty offices; how to accommodate enrollment growth with housing, academic/support spaces, and parking; and how to maintain a close-knit campus community. All of these changes must be made in the context of environmental responsibility.

Recommendations for physical growth over the next decade include 400 new on-campus beds, an increase of 360,000 gross square feet of academic and administrative spaces, and 250 more parking spaces. The plan pinpoints future building sites, landscape improvements, and phasing.

One of the significant outcomes of the planning process is the collaborative interest of the University and Glenside, particularly in accommodating more student housing and improving the retail district that connects the campus and the town.