Swarthmore College - New Campus Post Office
This design and feasibility study involved programming functional needs, identifying space requirements and developing a relocation plan for the College’s existing campus post office. Various site plan options were produced and refined to arrive at a highly desirable solution, which will be located just steps away from Swarthmore’s main student activity and dining centers. Concepts and alternatives were developed to knit the new facility compatibly into its unique context along with offering floor plans to satisfy a multitude of functional and space needs. The preferred design centers on restoring, repurposing and adding to one of Swarthmore’s classic Collegiate Gothic style stone structures originally built in the 1920’s.
An new addition will offer plenty of space to satisfy high-volume mail deliveries, package receiving, storage, and sorting space adjacent to a multi-bay truck dock with expanded apron to handle numerous daily deliveries. As well, part of this study focused on an existing conditions assessment with rehabilitation recommendations and comparative cost estimates to restore the existing building. Also included was a complete project cost estimate covering all renovation, new addition construction, and site construction scopes. Essential engineering components were addressed and initial solutions for each were included.
Swarthmore College Maintenance Assessment Study
Swarthmore College has approximately 1.7 million square feet of building space and miles of utility infrastructure, all requiring constant maintenance and renewal. These campus assets require on-going, significant financial investment to ensure proper upkeep and performance. Similar to its peer institutions, the College continues to accumulate a considerable backlog of deferred maintenance despite addressing the most pressing ones on an annual basis.
Our extensive campus-wide study began with evaluating previous assessment studies centered on life-cycle expectations. Next steps involved analyzing each building and component in detail to provide roadmaps for future deferred maintenance initiatives.
Key objectives achieved in the study consist of:
(1) Assemble a comprehensive list of deferred maintenance for each building or system in the study.
(2) Provide an estimated value of the College’s accumulated deferred maintenance backlog.
(3) Identify opportunities for qualitative space improvements within deferred maintenance projects.
(4) Develop a framework to address accumulated deferred maintenance backlog along with funding strategy and a preliminary work plan.
Working closely with all campus constituents, our study provides data and recommendations with best-methods to satisfy the College’s long-range deferred maintenance goals. Detailed scopes and cost data were produced, from which individual tasks and multi-faceted work packages are bundled to ensure the most economical and efficient use of resources.
