Lone Star College's CyFair Campus in Houston was planned and constructed as a $100 million project on 200 acres of empty land. The campus includes five key academic buildings - the Learning Commons, Technology Center, Center for the Arts, Health Science Center, and College and Conference Center. Classrooms were designed to be flexible and support different learning strategies. Informal learning spaces were integrated to encourage continued discussion between classes. Technology infrastructure, including power, conduit and ceiling supports, were installed to enable the addition of equipment over time according to the college's budget.

1. Lone Star College, Cypress, TX
CyFair Campus
Lone Star College’s CyFair Campus in suburban Houston
was envisioned as a clean slate approach to campus design.
On an empty parcel of land, with no pre-existing buildings,
the campus was planned and constructed, as a $100 million
project and encompassed 550,000 sf of new construction on
a 200 acre site. The campus is comprised of the following key
academic elements:
1. LRNC - Learning Commons - Library
2. TECH - Technology Center
3. ART - Center for the Arts
4. HSC - Health Science Center
5. CENT - College and Conference Center
Classrooms were designed with the flexibility
necessary to support a wide range of learning strategies.
As a general theme, circulation areas were enhanced to
integrate informal learning spaces where students would
naturally gather to continue class discussions, share
information and work on group projects.
Classrooms are furnished with flexible furniture to
encourage group work rather than lecture and both
wired and wireless technology is available in each
classroom.
Since the program included a large number of
different kinds of spaces, I developed a methodology to
standardized classroom types based on size and a layered
approach to integrating educational technology. The
scheme, comprised of four standard classroom types,
proved helpful in simplifying the stakeholder decision
making processes, and standardizing architectural room
design.
A full complement of technology basebuilding
infrastructure, power, conduit, ceiling support, projection
screens, etc., is integrated into each learning space. For
each room type, three levels of equipment fit up (high,
medium and low) were established to enable the client to
formulate a strategy to scale equipment purchases over
time, and meet initial budget limitations.
Initially, a considerable portion of the equipment was
furnished on a portable basis, with the goal of eventually
dedicating all classroom technology. In this way, the college
could maximize its initial capital expenditure. Provisions
were made to accommodate future video origination from
each classroom, and technology support spaces were
established to make possible the future addition of
equipment used for streaming video and audio media for
remote access by students.
As with UOM’s North Quad Complex, my responsibilities
included in depth initial needs analysis for space, technology
and infrastructure requirements for all learning spaces,
stakeholder interviews, educational technology program
narrative, preliminary equipment budgeting, and tracking
iterative program changes over time. Subsequently I served
as the principal in charge for AV and IT technology design
through implementation for the project.
2 | P a g e M i c h a e l D a v i d L e i b o f f