Aalto University in Facts and Figures
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Aalto University School of Science International Design Business Management Strategic campus development of Aalto University internal and international benchmarking of space resources Eelis Rytkönen Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Technology Espoo, 05 May 2012 Supervisor: Professor Kalevi Ekman Instructor: PhD Suvi Nenonen Aalto University Abstract of a Master’s thesis School of Science Author: Eelis Kari Mikael Rytkönen Title of the thesis: Strategic campus development of Aalto University – internal and international benchmarking of space resources Date: 05.05.2012 Number of pages: 127 Faculty: School of science Department: Industrial Engineering and Management Program: International Design Business Management (IDBM) Professorship: IDBM Supervisor: Kalevi Ekman Instructors: Suvi Nenonen, Anna-Liisa Sarasoja The nature of university campuses is changing because of a change in spatial demand. Therefore, spatial solutions and needs of university facilities have to be rethought. As Aalto University was established in 2010 by uniting three traditional Finnish Universities from the fields of art, economics and technology, Aalto’s facilities were unorganized, scattered around and difficult to manage. This study aims to define how Aalto University campuses and benchmarking practices could be developed in order to support the implementation of Aalto’s campus vision. It investigates spatial demands of universities now and in the future and how future demand could be satisfied with strategic learning landscape planning. The emphasis is inside the walls, and therefore urban planning and outside connections are outside the scope of this thesis. The structure of the thesis is based on three main research questions: (1) How do existing benchmarking practices support future development of campuses worldwide in general?; (2) How do existing facilities of Aalto University support the requirements of university education and related actions in practice?; and (3) How could the facilities be modified and developed in order to better and more concretely support the university’s core business in the future? The methods used are a literature overview, based on which is created a benchmarking framework and an empirical analysis. In general, thanks to the development of technology, global mobility and increasing cross- disciplinary thinking, working methods and learning patterns in university education vary a lot more than in the past according to individual teaching and learning styles and they are undependent on place. The research in this study is conducted based on development trends of space planning and the existing benchmarking framework applied accordingly. In practice, Aalto University’s spaces are used inefficiently and they do not fully meet the requirements of the modern learning landscape, nor do they match Aalto’s campus vision. The existing space resources inside the walls are benchmarked from physical and virtual, functional, financial and strategic aspects and compared with cutting edge international benchmarks and campus planning trends in order to define the quality of the facilities today. A future scenario is recommended based on the study conducted. Strategic elements include rethinking funding, the service landscape and re-designing existing unutilized spaces into multiuse platforms. Key words: Campus development, CREM, learning landscape, benchmarking 2 Aalto Yliopisto Diplomityön tiivistelmä Perustieteiden Korkeakoulu Tekijä: Eelis Kari Mikael Rytkönen Diplomityön otsikko: Aalto-yliopiston strateginen kampuskehittäminen – sisäinen ja kansainvälinen tilakannan becnhmarkkaus Päivämäärä: 05.05.2012 Sivuja: 127 Korkeakoulu: Perustieteiden korkeakoulu Laitos: Tuotantotalouden laitos Pääaineohjelma: International Design Business Management (IDBM) Professuuri: IDBM Valvoja: Kalevi Ekman Ohjaajat: Suvi Nenonen, Anna-Liisa Sarasoja Yliopistokampusten luonne on murroksessa tilatarpeiden muutoksen takia. Siksi yliopistojen tilaratkaisuja ja tilahallintaa tulee kehittää. Kun Aalto-yliopisto vuonna 2010 perustettiin yhdistämällä kolme perinteistä suomalaista yliopistoa taiteen, tekniikan ja kauppatieteiden aloilta, tilat olivat eri tavoin organisoituja, hajallaan sekä vaikeita hallita ja johtaa. Tämän diplomityön tavoitteena on määrittää, miten Aalto-Yliopiston kampusta ja sen arviointikäytäntöjä voitaisiin kehittää kampusvision toteutumisen tueksi. Se tutkii yliopistotilojen kysyntää nyt ja tulevaisuudessa, ja miten oppimisympäristön strategi- sella suunnittelulla voidaan vastata näihin tilatarpeisiin. Painotus on rakennusten sisätiloissa, minkä takia kaupunkisuunnittelu ja yhteydet on rajattu tutkimuksen ulko- puolelle. Työn rakenne perustuu kolmeen pääkysymykseen: (1) Miten olemassa olevat benchmark-käytännöt tukevat tulevaisuuden kampuskehitystä yleisellä tasolla?; (2) Miten Aalto-yliopiston tilakanta ja hallintatapa vastaavat yliopistokoulutuksen tarpeisiin käytännössä?; ja (3) Miten tiloja voitaisiin kehittää ja muokata yliopiston ydinliiketoimintaa tukevaksi tulevaisuudessa? Käytetyt metodit ovat kirjallisuuskatsaus ja sen pohjalta luotu benchmark-viitekehys sekä sekundääriaineistoon perustuva tilastollinen analyysi tilakannasta. Yleisellä tasolla työtavat ja oppimismallit ovat paikasta riippumattomia ja ne vaihtelevat yksilöstä riippuen enemmän kuin aikaisemmin teknologian kehittymisen, maailmanlaajuisen liikkuvuuden ja alati laajenevan monitieteisen ajattelun ansiosta. Tämä tutkimus on toteutettu oppimistilojen kehitystrendien ja olemassa olevien benchmark-käytäntöjen pohjalta, jotka on muokattu kehitystrendejä tukeviksi. Käytännössä Aalto-yliopiston tilankäyttö on tehotonta, eivätkä tilat täysin vastaa modernin oppimisympäristön tarpeita tai Aallon kampusvisiota. Aallon olemassa olevat tilat tutkitaan fyysisestä ja virtuaalisesta, funktionaalisesta, rahoituksellisesta sekä strategisesta näkökulmasta, ja niitä verrataan kansainvälisiin esimerkkeihin sekä kampuskehitystrendeihin tavoitteena määrittää Aallon tilojen laatu nykypäivänä. Tulevaisuutta ajatellen strategista skenaariota suositellaan tutkimukseen perustuen. Strategiset elementit pitävät sisällään esimerkiksi rahoituksen uudelleenjärjestelyn sekä olemassa olevien, käyttämättömien tilojen hyödyntämisen hub-tyyppisten monikäyttötilojen tarpeisiin. Avainsanat: kampuskehitys, CREM, oppimisympäristö, benchmark 3 Foreword Life is an ecosystem of learning and a university should offer a cutting edge playground for its processes. As Aalto University aims to increase cross-disciplinary, open and innovative thinking, it is what should also be reflected in and offered by its spaces. Aalto’s history is short but colourful and its aims are high and ambitious. This was probably the main reason why I joined the campus development research project. I wanted to be involved in something creative, current and concrete; something that would give something back to the institution that has given me the possibility of having the time of my life as a student. Thanks belong to my fellow thesis students Maarit and Konsta with whom I shared the joy and agony of writing theses. Thank you, Suvi, for being so supportive and for making me think about the possibilities in life in a new way. I never thought about it before but it might be so that there lives a small researcher in all of us. Thank you, Eetu, for inspiring me in terms of facilities and the people-centric ideology by introducing to me Aalto Design Factory. You have made me realise that one should not necessarily be satisfied with whatever the current situation is but that things can be carried out in a myriad of different ways – it is all about doing things and making the ideas concretely happen. Thank you Dad, Mom and my brother Tuomas for the eye-opening discussions related to the thesis and the future. However, I do not have the words to express how much I owe to and appreciate my girlfriend Kristina. Even during the roughest time of your life, you have been patient in supporting and listening to me in everything related to the writing process and an existential crisis following the idea of leaving student life behind. Thank you, my Koala! Before entering the world of learning landscape development, I encourage you to bear in mind the bright words of a childlike, stubborn and intelligent gentleman: ”My mind is my laboratory” -Albert Einstein 4 Table of Contents Foreword 4 1 Introduction 8 1.1 Background 8 1.2 Aim 8 1.3 Research questions 9 1.4 Structure 9 1.5 Methods and tools 10 1.5.1 Literature overview 10 1.5.2 Benchmarking framework 10 1.5.3 Campus space resource analysis 11 1.5.4 Scenario development tools 11 2 Overview of benchmarking and the learning landscape in a campus management context 13 2.1 Benchmarking 13 2.2 Real estate management in university campuses 13 2.3 Benchmarking in university campus development 14 2.4 Learning landscape trends 17 2.4.1 Mobility through technology 17 2.4.2 Informal and formal environments 18 2.4.3 Multi-use learning environments 19 2.5 Summary 20 3 Physical measures and categorisation in space management 21 3.1.1 International measurements 21 3.1.2 Space categorisations 25 3.1.3 Need for categorisation 30 3.1.4 Aalto’s internal space management system 31 4 Applied benchmarking framework 35 4.1 Process 35 4.2 Alterations to the model 35 4.3 Modifications to the aspects 38 4.3.1 Physical aspect 38 4.3.2 Functional aspect 39 4.3.3 Financial aspect 40 4.3.4 Strategic aspect 40 5 Evaluation of Aalto’s space resources 42 5.1 Aalto