The Ohlone Community College District recently partnered with HMC Architects to develop their 2012 District Facilities Master Plan (DFMP). The DFMP presents a translation of the Ohlone College educational program needs into a series of site and facilities recommendations. It includes the analysis of existing conditions, the quantification of planning data to forecast projected space needs, facilities planning principles to guide development and the identification of site and facilities recommendations for each campus.
Ohlone College is comprised of two campuses: the Fremont Campus, a 534-acre campus located along Mission Boulevard in Fremont, Calif., and the Newark Center, an 82-acre campus located along Cherry Street.
The Facilities Planning Principles form the basis for all projects identified in the DFMP. These principles are developed to:
– Support student learning
– Maximize functional space
– Eliminate non-functional space
– Improve efficiency and utilization
– Improve circulation and campus wayfinding
– Establish landscape linkages
Towards these goals, site and facilities recommendations for the Fremont Campus include a revitalized upper campus core. This campus core features a central axis and main street that creates opportunities for interaction by focusing campus pedestrian circulation towards common spaces, and provides attractively designed buildings, plantings, and furnishings.
The DFMP recommendations addressing the Newark Center include: installation of a photovoltaic (PV) array on the site; additional parking; a pedestrian linkage through the site and to the adjacent properties on each side; general soils mitigation; and provisions for maintenance facilities.
The 2012 DFMP’s purpose is to update and consolidate all previous facilities master plan documents into a single District Facilities Master Plan. This document will serve as the District’s planning road map moving forward and incorporates and supersedes all previous recommendations.
In accordance with the District’s governance process, the DFMP process maximized participation and involved stakeholder representatives from all areas of the college: administration, faculty, staff, and students. DFMP meetings began in September of 2011 and included multiple work sessions, as well as workshops with and presentations to the College Council and Board of Trustees.
