Mission Center

“Every day of delay is a day of lost mission.” This is where it all began. An antsy idea released in central Florida on unsuspecting colleagues and an eager client. An idea that had been forming for years, sparked and encouraged by observations working with clients on major projects. Emerging from a persistent sense that something was missing; a need for a better bridge between ideas and projects. This project was the beginning.

It started with a call to work on a library renovation after having worked with this particular client on a student union project. The scope of the project was not the entire library, just a floor and a half, some of which would be left untouched. The direction was to reorganize the first floor to create spaces for student support services. A relatively straightforward, small project. Small being key, because small means under the radar; small team, small fee, small expectations from firm leadership... The problem as defined was that students were not taking advantage of support services that the college saw as a critical component of preparing and exposing students to experiences beyond campus. The library itself had evolved to be a hub of collaboration, focused study, and a destination for students. It is by all measures successful. Thoughtful environmental changes, proactive management, and attentive staff created a place that attracts, activates, and welcomes students to linger. The idea was to identify select student services groups and locate them on the main level to put them in the path of a typical student's daily orbit. Who would argue with that? 

We had the opportunity to spend time with both the President and Provost to discuss this project on multiple occasions, which is not always the case. This project was important to them, it represented the future of the institution, the mission of the college, and an area of strategic importance and improvement. However, the more we worked the library problem, the farther away I felt we were from what they were trying to advance. But this was a priority, and we had to keep moving forward. “Every day of delay is a day of lost mission.” A few weeks later during a concept presentation, and for some reason, perhaps rhetorically, the President asked what I thought of what I just presented. The project wasn’t right. The design was fine, actually I thought it was pretty interesting, but the strategy was wrong. I told him I thought we were making a mistake, that I thought we needed to reframe our approach to the problem. After some discussion, he agreed and off we went.

This is where we left typical architectural practice behind and built a new bridge between intent and approach. Under the radar. We started by coordinating an all-day design thinking work session with a cross section of the college to define the problem and understand opportunity. We immersed ourselves with days of interviews, observations, on campus experience, and group work sessions to generate operational insight. We created experience maps, student POV scenarios, and explored opportunities for departmental collaboration and integration. We spent months building the thinking that will ultimately drive the project. Putting all the right ingredients together. We asked tough questions to find the right questions. What is Mission Central? How do we put it at the heart of the student experience? Global Citizenship. Responsible Leadership. Pursue Meaningful Lives and Productive Careers. This is way more than an outpost in an active building. 

The current library was built adjacent to the old library, which ever since had been used as a mismatched collection of found space. But it was at the center of campus and at one time represented the center of learning, the symbol of higher education. It became time for a new symbol. A manifestation of mission in action. Create a new center of gravity with aligned purpose. The physical center becomes mission central. The design approach was to connect the mission center to programming activity with reimagined adjacent academic, social, and student engagement hubs. A campus core strategy that created a new front door, new connections, and new opportunities in a new vision for the functional heart of campus. The result will bring together ten curricular and non-curricular programs to allow students to connect the dots.