Reconstruction of Campus Learning Space Driven by Computer

Science

Ping Su, Linyi Luo and Lin Lin

South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China

Keywords: Campus, Learning Center, Learning Space, Computer Science.

Abstract: Under the trend of the transformation of higher education pattern driven by computer science, the campus

learning space is also continuously reconstructed and iterated. The most typical phenomenon is that the

conventional university library is gradually replaced by the complex learning center. As a campus complex,

the configuration of the learning center in terms of function orientation, composition and indicators has been

greatly improved compared with the library. The reconstruction of functional positioning will inevitably

lead to the reconstruction of the spatial pattern of learning center, forming typical spatial characteristics that

are different from library buildings, such as sharing, openness, flexibility, and individuality.

INTRODUCTION

The concept of Learning Space was first proposed

by German philosopher and sociologist Jürgen

Habermas, which refers to the place formed by

people's interaction, and people exchange culture

and knowledge reserves in the learning space to

realize knowledge sharing (R-W Miller, 1983). In

the theory of pedagogy, learning space is different

from traditional teaching space to support

innovative education patterns such as autonomous

learning, collaborative learning and blended

learning based on learners' experience. Under the

trend of the transformation of higher education

pattern driven by computer science, the campus

learning space is also continuously reconstructed

and iterated. The most typical phenomenon is that

the conventional university library is gradually

replaced by the composite learning center.

FROM UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

TO UNINVERSITY LEARNING

CENTER

2.1 Overview of Learning Centers in

Colleges and Universities

The learning center of colleges and universities

discussed in this paper refers to the learner-centered

learning center, which is supported by information

technology and provides learners with a place for

autonomous learning, educational assistance and

innovative experiments to promote different types of

cooperation and interdisciplinary research. It is a

campus building complex integrating traditional

library, teaching place, learning exchange, leisure

and social interaction (Miguel Barahona., 2007).

In the information age, the transformation of

university libraries into learning centers mainly

comes from the following two driving forces. On

the one hand, the means by which students obtain

knowledge has transcended the bounds of

conventional archives and libraries. Consequently,

novel demands are placed on the functional design

and architectural configuration of these institutions.

The research in the field of library science points out

that the transformation to the learning center is the

main trend of the future development of libraries.

Shulin Yan and other scholars proposed that the

function of the new generation of libraries is

education in the first place, followed by information,

and the corresponding paradigm is "Learning

Center" (Wulin Yan, 2013). On the other hand, the

emergence of various innovative learning patterns

requires colleges and universities to provide

corresponding learning places. As the public center

in the traditional sense of campus, the library is

more adaptive in the adjustment of functions and

spaces compared with other types of teaching

buildings. This adaptation process involves

transforming traditional library spaces into

interactive and collaborative environments that

Su, P., Luo, L. and Lin, L.

Reconstruction of Campus Learning Space Driven by Computer Science.

DOI: 10.5220/0012276700003807

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Seminar on Artiﬁcial Intelligence, Networking and Information Technology (ANIT 2023), pages 165-171

ISBN: 978-989-758-677-4

165

prioritize active learning principles. Therefore,

driven by the development of computer science,

architectural design and computer science must now

converge to create novel educational settings that

foster engagement and interaction among students.

2.2 Development of Learning Center in

Colleges and Universities

As early as in the 1970s, libraries named "Learning

Centers" appeared in foreign universities; The first

real replacement of the traditional library is The

Biological Sciences Learning Center of the

University of Chicago, which was built and opened

in 1993. It is positioned as a "comprehensive school

building" built for the 21st century. Since then, the

development of university learning centers in North

America, Europe, Australia, Asia and other

developed countries has accelerated, and has

gradually become popular after 2000. Not only a

considerable number of university learning centers

have been built, but most colleges and universities

have also realized the transformation to learning

centers by upgrading the original library.

In China, at the beginning of the 21st century,

some universities have begun to add the function of

learning center to the newly built or reconstructed

libraries. A large number of university libraries built

after 2006 have already had the characteristics of

typical learning centers in terms of function and

space. The representative ones include the library of

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen

Campus), Lynn Library of Southern University of

Science and Technology, Library of Shanghai

University of Science and Technology, Kangquan

Library of Fudan University, etc. Due to the

construction evaluation standards of domestic

universities and other reasons, these campus

complexes basically still adopt the name of

"library"; Those directly named "learning centers"

mainly appear in Sino-foreign cooperative

universities, such as the learning resource center

built by Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong

Baptist University United International College in

2010, and the new library and learning center built by

the University of Nottingham Ningbo in 2020.

For the convenience of description, the learning

center and the new libraries with the characteristics

of the learning center are collectively referred to as

"Learning Center", and "Library" refers to the

regular library.

FUNCTIONAL

RECONSTRUCTION OF

LEARNING CENTER IN

CAMPUS

As a campus complex in the information age, the

configuration of the learning center in terms of

function orientation, composition and indicators has

been greatly improved compared with the library.

3.1 Change of Functional Orientation

The basic function of university library is mainly to

serve the positioning of "book- centered", forming

the system of book collection, borrowing, reading,

internal business and external service. Although it

contains some open learning places, its functions are

still relatively single. The university learning center

aims at multiple and individual learning types and

scales in the information age. Therefore, it

emphasizes the orientation of campus public space

with "learner experience as the center", and reading

is only one of the basic functions.

3.2 Expansion of Function Composition

The differences between the modes of running

schools in different universities lead to the different

functions of learning centers in colleges and

universities, but they still have certain common

rules. Through the statistical analysis of the cases of

learning centers in twenty universities in the past

thirty years, seven common functions can be

summarized, including: book collection, learning

and communication, experimental research,

education and training, leisure activities, service

housing and transportation space, and reflect the

following main characteristics:

1.Learning and communication is the core

function of learning center, including open learning,

multimedia learning, discussion area, seminar room,

individual learning unit, lecture hall (salon, multi-

function hall), lecture hall, screening room and other

types. In the traditional library, the borrowing area is

mainly for students' self-study activities, which is

integrated into the open learning area. As

interdisciplinary and collaborative learning have

become an important trend in the development of

higher education, learning seminar rooms and shared

discussion areas supporting collaborative

communication have also become the standard

configuration of learning centers.

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166

2.Most of the functions of the collection of books

(including stacks and open bookshelves) are still

retained, but the proportion of its area has been

greatly reduced due to the electronic use of books

and materials and the expansion of learning center

functions.

3.The proportion of experimental research

functions in foreign universities is higher than that in

China, which are mainly general-purpose high-tech

facilities for various students' innovative activities,

such as 3D printing room, robot laboratory, maker

space, digital media studio, student studio, research

room, comprehensive laboratory, etc.

4.Some learning centers are equipped with

education and training functions, mainly including

writing training, vocational skills training and

employment guidance, language centers,

comprehensive counseling classrooms, teacher

development centers, teacher seminar rooms,etc. In

addition to training students' comprehensive ability,

it is more important to provide support for the

interaction among students, teachers and

researchers.

5.The leisure activity function is the supporting

guarantee for the effective development of rich

learning activities of different types, different times

and different personalities. The common ones

include coffee, light meals, shops, game rooms,

sports and fitness, dance rooms, sleeping cabins,

meditation rooms, club/society activity rooms,

exhibitions and other spaces and facilities;

6.Service functions include consulting services,

internal office, equipment room and auxiliary space,

etc. The adoption of automation and intelligent

equipment greatly reduces the area of logistics,

consulting and other necessary service space in the

library;

7.Traffic space usually refers to stairs, elevators,

aisle space, etc., but the traffic space of learning

center is often compatible with learning,

communication, exhibition and other comprehensive

functions, and the area is greatly increased.

3.3 Improvement of Area Index

The expansion of the functions of learning centers in

colleges and universities has also brought about a

significant improvement in the area index.

Excluding the differences in enrollment scale

between different universities, this paper mainly

uses the two key indicators of the average floor area

per student and the average number of seats per

student to compare the five typical learning centers

completed in China in recent years (Table 1).

Table 1: Sorting out the average floor area of the research

objects per student.

Study project

Learning

center of

UNNC

Library of

CUHK

(Shenzhen)

Lynn Library

of SUSTech

Library of

Shanghai

Tech

Kangquan

Library of

Fudan

Universit

Floor area

(

square meters)

28125 20000 10000 17770 15500

Actual floor area per

student (square

meters

erson)

3.42 3.42 2.18 4.27 4.90

Number of seats per

student (pe

erson)

0.33 0.58 0.29 0.46 0.85

As can be seen from the above table, the size of

the learning center is mainly between 10000- 30000

square meters, and the average floor area per student

varies from 2.18-4.9 square meters, with a median

value of 3.42 square meters per person. This standard

has greatly broken through the upper limit of

1.56~2.00 square meters per person in the Index of

Building Planning Area for Ordinary Higher

Education Institutions, and also exceeds the full

score standard of 2.0 square meters per person in the

Evaluation Indicators of Ordinary University

Library. The average number of seats per student is

concentrated between 0.29 and 0.46 square meters

per person (individual reaches the ultra-high value

of 0.85), which also exceeds the full score of 0.25 in

the Evaluation Indicators of Ordinary University

Library.

SPATIAL RECONSTRUCTION

OF UNIVERSITY LEARNING

CENTER

The reconstruction of the functional orientation will

inevitably lead to the reconstruction of the spatial

model of the learning center, forming the typical

spatial characteristics that are different from the

library building, such as sharing, openness,

flexibility and individuality.

4.1 Compound Shared Space

Whether in the mode of "separation of borrowing,

reading and collecting" or "integration of collecting

and reading", the library mainly forms functional

partitions with clear boundaries around the main

body of "books", such as dynamic, static, internal

and external. The function expansion of learning

center is not only to provide support for diversified

learning activities such as personalized learning and

collaborative learning, but also to promote mutual

trigger and open integration between different

learning activities, to effectively support learners'

Reconstruction of Campus Learning Space Driven by Computer Science

167

interactions (

Michael Frizell, 2018

); This can not only

exercise students' cooperation ability, but also greatly

improve the efficiency of learning and the depth and

breadth of knowledge acquisition (

OBLINGER D G.,

2012

). Therefore, most of the learning centers are

weakening or even canceling the clear boundaries of

conventional functional partitions to create a shared

learning community with more complex functions.

Common practices include the use of open atrium,

gray space and other ways to construct a three-

dimensional shared learning place. For example, the

learning center of Ryerson University has a rich open

space such as large steps, platforms and galleries in

the atrium, which can accommodate learning

activities such as self-study and discussion, leisure

activities such as coffee and tea breaks, and public

activities such as academic reports and exhibitions

in addition to transportation functions (Figure 1). Or

the "Flat

Design" mode divided by fuzzy space grade,

forming a free-flowing plane and three-dimensional

space. A typical case, such as the Swiss Rolex

Learning Center designed by SANAA, the whole

building is spread out horizontally, and there is no

partition wall inside except for some rooms for

specific purposes. Learners can walk, stay and

observe freely inside and outside the building, and

choose different learning activities and learning

states freely in the large space.

Figure 1: Analysis of function sharing mode of learning center in colleges and universities.

Figure 2: Spatial layout changes of learning centers in colleges and universities.

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168

Figure 3: Analysis diagram of traffic space function of RLC.

4.2 Interactive Open Streamlines

The library under the functional partition presents a

dendritic streamline structure with simple and clear

primary and secondary relationship. The path choice

of users is relatively limited, and the chance of

meeting each other is greatly reduced. The learning

center under the compound sharing mode has an

interwoven and frequent collision network streamline

structure. Students can travel flexibly between

different learning groups, different learning activities

and even different functional departments and

obtain a wide range of information, which creates

conditions for stimulating the communication and

cooperation between people and between

disciplines. In this streamline structure, a large

number of traffic spaces in the learning center are no

longer in the conventional form of corridors, but are

expanded after meeting the basic functions of

connection and evacuation, forming a composite

space that can accommodate random activities such

as discussion, communication, exhibition, rest, and

social interaction (Figure 2).

As mentioned above in the Rolex Learning

Center, the flexible use of large space makes the

learners' streamline more free, easier to encounter

and communicate (Figure 3). Melbourne PLC

Learning Resource Center uses the concept of

"market" to design the collection and reading space,

change the conventional practice of simple index

partition by book type, and arrange books of

different disciplines with scattered reading space, so

as to increase the opportunity for learners to contact

with information of different disciplines and learners

in the process of looking for materials. Of course,

these practices directly lead to a large increase in the

area of the so-called "traffic space" or "auxiliary

space" that is not clear in the learning center, such as

the area of this part of the Rolex center accounted

for 45%.

The interactive streamline design is also reflected

in the planning and location of the university

learning center. The building is located in a site

where the students are more likely to pass through to

attract more students to enter and study inside. The

Learning Center of the University of Nottingham

Ningbo is a typical example. It is arranged at the

intersection of the campus life axis and the teaching

axis. It is close to the dormitors, dining halls,

teaching buildings and other buildings, ensuring that

most of the campus can be reached by walking for

about five minutes. (Table 2) In a campus with a

large land area and scattered living areas, the

learning center can adopt a multi-center

decentralized mode to facilitate the use of students

in different areas, and can also form their own theme

characteristics according to different needs. For

example, Nanyang Technological University campus

Reconstruction of Campus Learning Space Driven by Computer Science

169

in Singapore, which covers an area of two hundred

hectares, has set up six libraries and two learning

centers, The Hive and The Art, according to the

service radius. The School of Social Sciences

Library at Taiwan University, designed by Toyo Ito,

is set up on the open border between the campus and

the city to facilitate simultaneous access and

interactin between learners from both inside and

outside the campus.

Table 2: Analysis of the flat streamline of the learning

center in colleges and universities.

Learning Center of UNNC Nanyang Technological University

Maste

Plan

Remarks： Learning Center Campus Entrance Streamline

Remarks: Library Learning Center Walking Range

4.3 Dynamic Elastic Space

Different from the relatively static reading function

of the library, due to the uncertainty of learning

scale, mode and time, the functions carried by the

learning center in the limited space are not only

complex and diverse, but also show dynamic

changes and carry more informationalized service.

This requires that the learning center must break

through the static and stable spatial layout of

conventional buildings, and adopt flexible space

mode to adapt to the continuous change of user

needs in information age. Common approaches in

the design include:

First, choose an overall space system with flexible

adaptability, such as the classic universal space, by

"building a practical and economical space to apply

the needs of various functional changes" (Zaida R G.,

2021). At the beginning of the 20th century, the

modular library space model of regular column

network, floor height, column network and floor

load were unified. Although it was proposed based

on the requirements of book collection, its principle

is still applicable in the design of learning center.

The large span, modular regular column network,

sufficient floor height reservation, no load-bearing

partition wall and other practices provide a whole

and continuous structure foundation for the flexible

use of internal space.

Secondly, space separation interfaces and

facilities with the characteristics of flexibility,

mobility, and assembly are placed in the general

space, creating a learning environment that can be

tailored to the changing needs of learners at any time.

This is reflected in the specific areas of most

university learning centers, and the learning space

can be redivided or combined by simple operation to

realize the flexible adjustment of space size, layout,

furniture and media equipment layout (Figure 4). For

example, in the learning center of the Townsville

campus of James Cook University, the movable

partition wall hanging on the suspended ceiling,

large furniture with rollers and demonstration

baffling boards, etc. As well as the sliding track and

soundproof curtain dividers in the assembly space of

the student center of Rhode Island School of Design,

make the space more flexible and intelligent.

However, it is still necessary to continue to improve

the key technical issues such as ease of use, sound

insulation, construction cost and maintenance cost.

Figure 4: Analysis diagram of traffic space function of

RLC.

4.4 Diverse Personality Facilities

As a public learning and social place on campus,

learning center should not only accommodate formal

learning Spaces such as libraries, but also pay more

attention to the shaping of informal learning spaces,

encouraging students to gather and engage in

activities at any time and anywhere in a relaxed

state. The open and shared spatial layout and the

resulting rich spatial experience are important

foundations for shaping the atmosphere of informal

learning spaces. In the specific planning and design,

the learning center also needs to provide more

humane facilities to meet the individual needs of

learners.

For example, most learning centers can provide

round-the-clock open services or set up round-the-

clock open learning areas for learners to support the

flexible development of informal learning activities.

At the same time, it must also be equipped with

round-the-clock learning and living service,

including seats with different sitting positions,

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170

sleeping cabins for lunch breaks, games rooms for

relaxation and entertainment, coffee bars for quick

meals, and vending machines to provide round-the-

clock convenience. With the increasing popularity of

online and offline blended learning mode, learning

centers need to be equipped with sufficient software

and hardware facilities, including full-coverage

WIFI network, VR/AR equipment, charging

equipment, printing equipment, etc. In addition, it is

also necessary to actively improve the online service

support, build a synchronous virtual learning space,

and provide different levels of technical services

from resource sharing, online interaction, virtual

simulation, data analysis and intelligent

management.

CONCLUSION

Although a considerable number of learning centers

have been built in China, it is also found in the

preliminary discussion that the managers, builders,

users and designers of most universities do not have

a comprehensive understanding of this new type of

campus architecture. In particular, there is no clear

definition and standard of learning center in the

existing university construction standards and codes.

If many new projects lack in-depth functional

planning in the early stage of project initiation,

feasibility research and design, and simply follow

the indicators and functional requirements of

university libraries, it is easy to lead to huge

differences in building scale, content and cost with

the actual needs, which will be an important topic to

be paid attention to in the future campus

architectural design and research. At the same time,

under the environment of constantly updating and

iterating information age, how to adapt the learning

center to the new needs is also a problem worth

exploring.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This work is supported by National Natural Science

Foundation of China (NSFC) Top-level Project:

Research on Transformation Model and

Reconstrunction Design Strategy of Campus

Learning Spaces Based on Blended Learning

Experience (52078215).

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