Campus Development FOCUS ON STUDY ENVIRONMENT Dialogue, new technology and a more active student life require rethinking the physical surroundings. The newly renovated library in Building 101 features coloured carrels for individual study, ordinary tables for group work, and beanbags in a lounge area in the centre of the room. There is a striking difference between the old and the new auditorium buildings. In the old buildings, the corridors and halls are often devoid of life, and DTU’s distinctive stone floor grabs the attention. In the new and renovated buildings, like 127 and 421, there are students everywhere. The study places, which used to be found behind closed doors, have been moved out into the open communal areas. Here, students can move freely between group and individual work and the teaching going on in the auditoriums. Walls and doors are now transparent. This makes it possible to see what is happening in the auditoriums, and injects life into the rooms, corridors and halls. DTU is busy renovating and updating the University’s auditoriums and transforming the communal areas and foyers into active study environments. Work on some auditoriums is already complete, and these are being used as test centres for future conversions. Others still look almost as they did when they were first built, and are waiting to be rebuilt. The auditoriums at DTU Lyngby Campus occupy seven buildings, and the renovation work is happening one building at a time up until 2021. Building 421 was the first large auditorium to be converted at Lyngby Campus. At Ballerup Campus, the classrooms have been renovated and knocked together so as to accommodate both lectures and group work without having to leave the room. The study environments in the communal areas have been strengthened with the creation of a number of network centres down through the more than 600-metre-long building, where about 2,500 DTU students spend their days. Dialogue requires new auditoriums The teaching at DTU has changed considerably since DTU Lyngby Campus was first built more than 40 years ago. The focus is now on the students, and the monologue from the lecturer has been replaced with dialogue between lecturer and students. The blackboard has been joined by IT in the classroom, and the traditional 35-minute lesson can now last several hours or more. This places new demands on the auditoriums where acoustics, ventilation solutions, and furnishings must be able to support longer and more varied sessions. Tailored to longer days Life as a student has also changed. Students often stay on campus until the evening, sometimes until late at night. This means that foyers and communal areas are used as learning spaces, where students can either work on their own, in groups around a table, or sit back and read. The newly renovated library in Building 101 has coloured carrels for individual study, ordinary tables for group work and beanbags in a lounge area in the centre of the room. Even though the room is large and open, there is a pleasant buzz of sound and activity. The entrance hall in Building 306 is furnished with colourful chairs which improve the acoustics and which can be moved around as required. The long tables at the far end of 306 are often packed with students until late in the evening. Light, air, sound Some auditoriums are being renovated from top to bottom, and everything is being replaced. In other buildings, the work simply focuses on light, air, and sound (acoustics). The renovation of Building 341 has just been completed, and the students can look forward to the improved acoustics, which mean that sound travels both ways to support dialogue-based teaching. Moreover, the new ventilation system and correct lighting make it far more comfortable for both students and lecturers to stay in the auditoriums for longer periods at a time. Learning environments 09/2015 Transforming DTU 30
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