Students’ Perspectives Of Their Learning Spaces: An Ecologic Case Study Of Sage Hall

Abstract

A recent trend in the corporate work style, mobile working, has caused the boundaries between traditional work spaces to become blurred. In a higher education setting, these boundaries can become even more blurred as college students often use the same spaces to do various activities. The goal of this study was to explore the design features of informal work settings in Sage Hall, on the campus of Cornell University, that are perceived as important by the Business School students, and to identify key design features that are associated with students' preference of space for work. A multi-tool method was developed in this study, including traditional methods of a survey and interview, as well as a non-traditional data collection method that utilized photographs. It was found that access to technology, particularly electrical outlets, and access to natural light were most important to students. A new method of visualizing work space preference, the bivariate choropleth, was also explored. Serving as a pilot study on critical characteristics of informal learning and working environments, this thesis also generated research design suggestions for future studies on this intriguing topic.