Arcadis Archives - �鶹��

Designing Safer Schools with Data-Driven Solutions

Lindsey Coulter — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 15:02:52 +0000

Diagrammatic representation of a camera mounted at parapet height to a building, indicating the various characteristics of the resulting view. | Photo Credit (all): Courtesy of Arcadis

By Jonathan Steel

From ChatGPT to Gemini and everything in between, it is easy to feel overwhelmed by the dizzying array of possibilities introduced by large language models (LLMs). Bombarded by clickbait that polarizes, oversimplifies, and misrepresents complex issues, forming an informed perspective can start to feel like more effort than it’s worth.

Arcadis helps clients navigate this landscape so they can benefit from these powerful tools in focused, practical ways tailored to their specific needs. This work is anchored within the firm’s computational design team. Capabilities in this area long predate the public launch of the first LLMs. Rather than starting from scratch, the team has expanded an existing toolkit for processing large volumes of data by integrating LLM capabilities that accelerate sorting, categorization, and pattern recognition.

Understanding Computational Design��

So what is computational design, and why does it matter today? Put simply, it is a process for developing and evaluating high-performing options against a set of predetermined criteria using a combination of tools and technologies.

A simple way to think about it is baking a loaf of bread with no prior experience. Variables to experiment with might include oven temperature, bake time, the amount of yeast or how long the dough is kneaded. A computational design process models many combinations of these variables using available data to identify the settings most likely to produce a desired outcome. For example, a loaf with a soft interior and crusty exterior requires a different mix of variables than one intended to be evenly dense throughout. Computational design allows these trade-offs to be explored systematically, making it easier to understand how different inputs shape the final result.

Computational design truly comes into its own when datasets grow massive and the number of variables becomes so large that testing options through trial and error is far beyond what the human brain can manage within a reasonable timeframe. Unlike baking bread, these challenges cannot be solved through simple experimentation.

Consider the placement of stations along a proposed light rail line in a city. Decision-making must account for factors such as land availability, parcel costs, walking distances to nearby homes, access to services, and more. A computational design process can rapidly generate hundreds of thousands of possible scenarios and evaluate them against defined criteria in minutes, surfacing the options that best align with the chosen priorities and weightings.��

Using Computational Design for Portland Public Schools

Optimized camera positions and resulting view fields applied to a specific school site.

A clear example of how these capabilities have been applied to increase the value delivered to clients is the recently completed Portland Public Schools Security Camera Upgrades project. As part of the initial approach, a computational design process was used to optimize both the layout and selection of cameras across upgrades to 86 campuses districtwide. As demonstrated throughout this work, computational design excels at addressing complex, interrelated, multivariable challenges.

The challenge was clear from the outset: how to develop a process that could generate optimal camera placement designs across each campus while meeting two core objectives:

Maximize coverage of the perimeter wall of any building.
Maximize coverage of the parking lots on each site.

Three types of security cameras were considered for this application, each with its own focal range, field of view, and performance characteristics: wide-angle, varifocal, and multisensor. By modeling these camera types, applying them to accurately developed site drawings, and accounting for visual obstructions that affect coverage of building perimeters and parking areas, the team was able to use an evolutionary model to iteratively solve for optimal layouts. This approach delivered a solution that met the project schedule while coming in 40% under budget.

The $19 million project spanned 86 campuses and focused on achieving near-complete building perimeter camera coverage. Rather than applying a standard template, the team used parametric tools alongside practitioner insight to account for variations in building footprints, existing coverage, site conditions, and incident hotspots across the district. As districts continue to prioritize safety in capital planning, this work offers a grounded view of how large systems are approaching security upgrades in practice.

The Future of Computational Design in Academic Environments��

Many everyday challenges are complex, interrelated, multivariable problems that are often solved in ways that are good enough rather than truly optimal. In most cases, this approach works. However, for businesses and public entities responsible for allocating significant resources to achieve specific outcomes, optimization becomes critically important.

Questions quickly emerge: What are the optimal routes and bus sizes to transport students across a school district? How can scheduling of classes at high school level best be distributed to balance minimizing travel distances between periods, maximizing credit availability, and minimizing teacher workload?�� How can food programs optimally meet student nutrition needs while minimizing food costs and preparation times, while maximizing appeal?��

These are just a few examples of challenges where computational design can drive meaningful impact and support better outcomes. The question is simple: what complex, interrelated, multivariable problems are being tackled today that could benefit from the application of computational design? The opportunities are endless.��

Jonathan Steel is a Principal and Business Unit Director, RIBA, ARB, for Arcadis.

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Stamford Leaders Approve Plans for Roxbury Elementary School Construction

Lindsey Coulter — Mon, 29 Dec 2025 16:53:23 +0000

The new Roxbury Elementary School will increase capacity from 500 to 850 students and expand grade levels served through eighth grade. | Photo Credit:��TSKP Studio��

By Lindsey Coulter��

STAMFORD, Conn. — Stamford officials have approved plans for construction of��the��new Roxbury Elementary School, advancing one of the city’s largest K-12 capital projects as part of��the��broader,��$1.5 billion��Stamford Public Schools Long-term Facilities Plan��to improve facilities across the city.��

The Stamford Planning Board voted Dec. 19 to approve the project, which will replace the existing 70-year-old Roxbury Elementary School. The new facility is being funded in part through House Bill 7288, which provides significant state support for school construction projects across Connecticut.��The project’s next steps include a bid-authorization meeting with state officials, along with final approvals��required��from city and state agencies.��

In December 2022, the state increased its reimbursement rate for eligible school construction projects to 60%, up from 20%, a change that will apply to the new Roxbury K-8 school. Roxbury was added to the state’s priority list that same month, and formal design work began in December 2023.��Construction is expected to begin in late 2026, with the school now slated to open during the 2028-29 school year. Earlier projections had targeted occupancy in the 2027-28 school year, but��the��building��timeline has��been extended by rising��construction��costs.��Another significant project now underway,��Westhill High School,��was��initially estimated at $301 million��but��has��seen its projected cost increase to $461 million. Similarly, the Roxbury Elementary School project was first budgeted at $86 million when announced in 2022 and is now estimated at $130 million.��

The new Roxbury Elementary School will increase capacity from 500 to 850 students and expand grade levels served through eighth grade. In addition to addressing long-standing maintenance and repair issues, the��school will be organized around nine learning pods, each dedicated to a��specific��grade, where students will spend the majority of their school day��to reduce��circulation.��All pods will��include��restrooms and breakout spaces and��will be connected by a central corridor.��The project��also��includes��a��shared media center, cafeteria and library as well as a��modern gymnasium��that will conserve square footage by also serving as a performance space.��In addition to new��outdoor play areas,��the project will include��sustainability upgrades, such as the��installation of geothermal��wells,��expanded parking capacity,��and safer school��bus��and parent pickup loops.��

The existing K-5 Roxbury Elementary School will remain in operation throughout��the construction��of the new building.��The project will require the demolition of several portable structures that have been used as temporary classrooms for decades to address overcrowding. Once the new facility is operational, the existing school building will be demolished.��

The project team includes TSKP Studio as architect, O&G Industries as construction manager, and Arcadis U.S. Inc. providing project management services.��Program planning for the new Roxbury school is complete, and design work is currently underway.��

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New Taholah School Built on Higher Ground for Natural Disaster Resilience

Heidi Warstler — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 23:21:31 +0000

The��state��named the replacement of the existing Taholah School as a top priority under the School Seismic Safety Grant Program, recognizing the urgent need to move students to higher ground. | Photo Credit:��Taholah School District��

By��Lindsey Coulter��

TAHOLAH, Wash. —��Taholah School District marked a historic milestone on Nov.��14, when community members, families, students, and partners gathered to celebrate the official groundbreaking for the district’s new��75,000-square-foot K-12 school, which upon completion will��serve 250 students.��

The��event��began with an offering and blessing of the land, followed by honoring the contributions that made the��project possible. Traditional blankets and necklaces made by students were presented to key Quinault Indian Nation members as well as to the��legislators, organizers, planners,��architects��and��project��team members.��

“This project shows what’s possible when schools and communities work together,” said Superintendent Dr. Herman J. Lartigue Jr.��in a statement at the groundbreaking ceremony.��“The Quinault Indian Nation has leased the land for this new school.��We’re��grateful for their partnership and for the state’s support. Our students will learn in a building that keeps them safe.”��

The current school sits in the��community’s��lower village, an area vulnerable to flooding,��earthquakes��and tsunamis.��The state��named��the replacement of the existing��Taholah School��as��a��top priority under the School Seismic Safety Grant Program, recognizing the urgent need to move students to higher ground.��The new facility will be located 150 feet above sea level as part of the new upper Taholah village��development.��The school’s relocation is part of the Tribe’s larger relocation, anticipating the impacts of��natural disasters, which have intensified in the area as a result of��climate change.��Along with the move to a��safer and more��stable site, the new school��facility��will provide modernized learning spaces.��

The Quinault Indian Nation donated the land,��and the project is the result of years of��collaboration between Taholah School District, the Quinault Business Council, state��legislators��and��local��families.��

Project partners include project architect Arcadis; structural engineer Degenkolb Engineers; civil engineer Akana; mechanical,��electrical��and plumbing engineer Tres West Engineers; landscape architect Osborn Consulting; acoustical engineer A3 Acoustics LLP; food service designer JLR DESIGN GROUP INC; and theater designer. PLA Designs, INC.��

Additionally, cultural consultant Donaldson Consulting��facilitated��community��engagement and communications with the owner and the Quinault Tribe. This step will ensure��the community’s voices are heard throughout the project and that cultural elements are implemented appropriately from schematic design through construction, according to the firm.��

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University of Manitoba Project Plagued by Cost Increases

WINNIPEG, Manitoba — Construction costs for a new football stadium at the University of Manitoba have spiked nearly 40 percent to $160 million from an initial estimate of $115 million provided last April, according to reports.

The 33,000-seat stadium, designed to replace Winnipeg’s 55-year-old Canada Inns Stadium, is a joint effort of the city of Winnipeg, the Province of Manitoba, real estate company Creswin Properties, the Winnipeg Football Club, the City of Ottawa, and the university. The six parties signed an agreement in April identifying Creswin Properties as responsible for the majority of the $115 million price tag and for handling any cost overruns on the stadium side. However, a point contention has come up as to who should make up the additional $45 million.

The stadium, which is currently undergoing excavation work, has been hit by escalating area construction costs and an increase in the price of the roof to make the facility less noisy to local residents. All parties say they are still committed to building the stadium. David Asper, chairman of Creswin Properties, says now the parties involved have to determine whether to create a new deal with his company or to build a purely government-funded stadium.

According to Manitoba Premier Greg Selinger, "the project has to be done."

"It is a very important project for the city," he adds. "It’s one of our key amenities."

The proposal to build the stadium includes $22.5 million in improvements to the recreational facilities at the University of Manitoba.

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University of Houston to Beef Up Athletic Facilities

HOUSTON — The University of Houston has released early conceptual designs for a new football stadium and a renovated basketball arena, together costing an estimated $160 million.

The football stadium, with an estimated cost of $120 million, will hold 40,000 fans initially, with plans to expand to accommodate more than 50,000 people in the future. The stadium will house 22 luxury suites, 200 loge box seats and club seating for 650. The stadium’s clubhouse will contain a hall of fame area, locker room facilities, academic and meeting spaces, and sports medicine accommodations.

The plans also include $40 million in renovations to the men’s and women’s basketball arena, Hofheinz Pavilion, including adding 250 floor seats and 100 loge box seats.

Working with global architecture firm AECOM, university officials studied three site locations over the last four months before agreeing upon a new football stadium on the existing Robertson Stadium site.

When completed, the arena will house two new practice courts, office suites for the men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball programs, team academic/video rooms, and sports medicine and athletic rehab spaces.

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Not Just for Exercise

Updated green recreation and athletic centers help with student performance and recruitment at higher education facilities.

A trip to the activities and recreation center has become as much a part of the college campus tour as has a look around the dining hall or a peek inside the academic library. As schools continue to fight for a larger portion of the enrollment pie, they’re having to renovate or replace their old-school workout facilities — adding in everything from luxury pools to juice bars — to attract new students and to encourage current students and alumni to hangout on campus more.

Abe Drabkin, director of marketing for the National Intramural-Recreational Sports Association, says that the first collegiate recreation center in the United States came about as early as 1915. Since then, data has surfaced drawing a correlation between the use of recreational centers and a student’s collegiate achievement level, including evidence of lower student stress levels and higher graduation rates within a four-year period, he says.

According to a 2004 study commissioned by NIRSA and conducted by market research firm Kerr & Downs Research, one-third of potential college applicants believe that visiting a school’s recreational facilities is important, while nearly 30 percent rejected a school due to its lack of recreational opportunities. Additionally, NIRSA reports approximately 75 percent of college students participate in campus recreational sports programs. Drabkin explains that a sort of dualistic purpose of the centers has emerged.

“Rec centers create student success and rec centers get used to recruit students,” he says. “We’re finding more and more that the rest of the campus understands that concept and uses the rec center as a place to recruit, retain and train their students.”

Research shows colleges are working hard to meet that need, too. “Trends in College Spending 1998-2008,” a study published by the nonprofit, educational research group, The Delta Project, recognized that college spending on recreation now outpaces spending on education.

Besides meeting the students’ recreational needs, there is another factor altogether that students and faculty may not notice that comes into play when selecting winners for the NIRSA awards. Allison Van Leeuwen, who chairs the NIRSA committee that chooses the award recipients, says how “green” a recreational center is plays an important role in whether it receives the award or not.

“Sustainability is a big one,” Van Leeuwen says. “Innovative use of technology is another. For example, we look at what efficient methods have been utilized for facility management and security, such as whether the wellness center adopts an employee management system or newer technology like an ID or biometrics scanner.”

Other factors include how the recreation center correlates with the college’s campus master plan, unique design features the facility might have, how functional the building is, and the use of innovative construction materials or methods. Each nominee must be a NIRSA member, be no more than two years old, must be more than 20,000 square feet in size and cost at least $2 million for construction. The judging panel consists of recreational sports directors from member institutions and associate member architects.

Every year, NIRSA distinguishes a select few new or remodeled college rec centers with its Outstanding Sports Facilities Awards. This year’s 10 winners were made up of indoor and outdoor facilities from around the country, including the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in Urbana, Ill.; Montana State University in Bozeman, Mont.; and Delaware State University in Dover, Del.

�鶹�� chose these three 2010 Outstanding Sports Facilities Award winners from different parts of the country to highlight each of their unique planning methods, designs and use of interior elements.

Activities and Recreation Center

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Location: Champaign, Ill.

Architects: VOA Associates Inc. of Chicago, Hughes Group Architects of Sterling, Va.

General Contractor: Williams Brothers Construction Co., Inc. of Houston

IUC’s updated $54 million Activities and Recreation Center has given new life to the 39-year-old space with a 120,000-square-foot expansion and a four-story atrium addition that runs the width of the building, bathing workout areas in natural light and providing plentiful views of interior activities from the outside. At 340,000 square feet, the ARC is one of the largest on-campus rec centers in the country. Designed by a partnership between VOA and Hughes Group Architects, the facility is one of two on-campus recreation buildings renovated and expanded by the firms, giving the 41,000-plus students of the Big Ten school two locations where they can hit the weights or get in their cardio.

“UIUC had, what they considered, very outdated recreational facilities,” explains Dean Huspen, senior vice president at VOA, and the project’s architect. “They had two very sturdy buildings for these facilities, but the school felt that inside they were outdated and wanted to renovate and expand them to accommodate a larger student body, which had grown over the last 40 years.”

The project, which was paid for by a student fee increase, involved a multiphase, six-year plan to improve the ARC (known as the Intramural Physical Education Building before the renovations) and the much smaller Campus Recreation Center East, expanding them by 40 percent and 90 percent respectively.

“The renovation of the ARC was more surgical, as changes were made throughout the entire structure,” says Huspen. “The CRCE was a much smaller, metal building, so the renovation there was easier — it was more of a spruce up. The real heavy work at CRCE was the expansion.”

Architects transformed several of the building’s racquetball courts for other uses, such as multipurpose areas capable of accommodating spinning, yoga, and other contemporary popular sports and activities. The upgrade added or renovated seven multipurpose rooms, the largest at 6,180 square feet; four gymnasiums, with nearly 85,000 square feet of space and 12 basketball, courts between them; and 12 racquetball and three squash courts. Also included in the layout are a small indoor track; a 23,000-square-foot indoor pool; a 34-foot-high climbing wall; a 150-person auditorium; instructional kitchen; café; meeting rooms and administrative offices.

“The school wanted more program rooms for today’s fitness trends,” Huspen says. “So with the existing structure, we had to largely work with what was there, making the spaces work by knocking out walls and reformulating the layout.”

“You don’t really know whether or not fitness trends are going to be permanent,” he added. “Our goal was to build something versatile enough so that in five years the school could change the space without knocking down walls again.”

Among the building’s most striking features is its atrium, which doubles as a central organizing and gathering space.

“We tried to make the building as glassy as possible so you can see all the activity happening inside [during] the evening hours,” says Huspen. “We designed the ARC so it was very open and life-feeling. From the outside, you can see it’s a busy place with people working out, runners on the track and a lot of other activity going on.”

Marga Hosaeus Recreation and Fitness Center

Montana State University

Location: Bozeman, Mont.

Architects: Dowling and Sandholm Architects of Bozeman, Mont.

General Contractor: Swank Enterprises of Valier, Mont.

he $15.5 million renovation of the Marga Hosaeus Recreation and Fitness Center added a rustic façade and some 20,000 square feet of workout space to the circa 1970s building. Supported by a $65-per-year student fee increase, the 140,000-square-foot renovated fitness center added space for spinning and hydro-fitness classes, both new to the school’s recreation program, and boosted student use of the facility 30 percent over pre-renovation attendance. The school also reported theft and crime at the fitness center is down 80-90 percent, due in part to a new biometric hand scanner used for access, and a new security system.

“The un-renovated fitness center had four or five additions attached to it over the years, and it was really a maze of poorly planned add-ons,” says Mike Dowling, president of Dowling and Sandholm Architects. “Ultimately, there was a circulation issue with the building, kind of like a hospital maze, and there was no sense of a central space that organized all the different components of the rec center.

“Nobody went there,” he adds. “In fact, as big as it was, most people walked right by it on the street not even knowing it was there.”

The student body became the driving force behind the renovation. Open discussions were held between students and designers over several days to determine wants ranging from the exercise rooms to the exterior finish.

“Everybody really gravitated towards the same look, which incorporated steel and glass and had a very contemporary finish, but also a rustic appearance,” Dowling says. “The students wanted the renovated center to be open, well lit and very inviting, so as people were walking by on campus, it would be illuminated from the inside and serve as a kind of beacon.”

Approximately 20,000 square feet at the core of the building was demolished during construction to make room for a two-and-a-half story high central space that provides views of the facility’s workout areas and its rock-climbing wall. Renovations were made to the building’s pool, several of its fitness rooms, the locker area, and an eighth of a mile running track. The renovation and expansion provided capacity for several new features, including saunas and a fireplace lounge, and upgraded existing areas, adding about three-times more space than the old complex for new cardiovascular machines and weight equipment.

A major challenge to the project was how best to integrate the building’s patchwork of additions together, says Dowling.

“We had to figure out how to knit together 120,000 square feet of building on a budget that could handle $40,000 worth of construction,” he adds. “We also rebuilt the façade, which represented 20 percent of the exterior of this building, so that was a challenge too.”

After nearly two years of design and planning and another two years of construction, the Marga Hosaeus Recreation and Fitness Center is now more than a recognizable landmark on campus — it’s busy “nonstop day and night,” says Dowling.

Wellness and Recreation Center

Delaware State University

Location: Dover, Del.

Architects: Holzman Moss Bottino Architecture of New York, Hughes Group Architects of Sterling, Va.

General Contractor: EDiS Company of Wilmington, Del.

When Delaware State University approached the architecture firms HMBA and Hughes Group Architects, the college was looking to give its Dover, Del., campus a makeover, making it more student-friendly and giving it the ability to accommodate an expected enrollment increase. DSU officials had just drafted a 10-year plan, with the goal of investing $296.4 million into construction projects at DSU to accomplish both objectives. Within that plan was outlined a need for a new wellness center and a new student center.

“DSU has traditionally been a commuter campus and the school wanted to create an environment where students wouldn’t want to go off campus,” explains HMBA’s Ben Caldwell, DSU’s project manager. “The university had fairly limited on-campus opportunities for its students at the time.”

DSU’s previous wellness center was an outdated student rec area with an old pool, poor basketball court, and ancient NCAA strength and conditioning area, none of which was very appealing to the students.

The school’s new $22 million Wellness and Recreation Center was part of a two-phase project that included renovating the existing rec facility and connecting the two buildings. Phase One included construction of a student-athlete strength and conditioning center, where a Division 1-A weight training area and locker rooms for the school’s varsity squads are located. Two encompassed the construction of the two-story, 54,000-square-foot WRC and the rebuilding of an adjacent swimming pool, which holds three lap lanes, inter-pool basketball hoops and an inter-pool bench with water jets. WRC amenities include dual basketball/volleyball courts, aerobic and fitness class spaces, a juice bar with tables and seating, and a one-eighth of a mile running track that winds through the facility’s workout areas.

The entire building was dedicated last February along with new outdoor recreation fields and courts and DSU’s new $24 million Martin Luther King Jr. Student Center, which was also designed by HMBA. The entire conglomeration of buildings is known as the Student Center Complex.

The design of the WRC integrates social and athletic areas throughout versus adding social areas, like lounges, into hidden corners away from the action. Examples include an inter-pool bench located adjacent to the lap lanes and a wedge-shaped indoor seating area between the two playing courts. HMBA created the seating area, where tables and chairs are located, by building the new court slightly offset from the old.

“Now, instead of having to sit off in the corner and watch the basketball game, there’s this very exciting wedge of space right between the two courts so that players and people not playing in games can interact with one another,” Caldwell says.

Situated near the campus entrance, the WRC sports a vibrant redbrick façade, which provides a new take on an old look at DSU. Unlike many of the school’s existing boxy, redbrick buildings, the WRC features separated brick walls with floor-to-ceiling windows between panels, breaking up the monotony of the traditional brick appearance.

“It was a very conscious effort on our part to take the red brick vocabulary of DSU and use it in creating our new building in a slightly different way so we didn’t end up with this gigantic, plain red box,” Caldwell adds.

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