Sarah Lawrence College
Campus Master Plan Update 2020
Bronxville, New York

44 ACRES • 1.9 MILLION SQ FT

Davis Brody Bond’s Master Plan Update 2020 for Sarah Lawrence College optimizes the use of its existing buildings, originally designed to co-locate student residences with spaces for faculty, classrooms, and academic programs — in keeping with the College’s founding pedagogy. As the campus has grown over time, it now consists of both purpose-built facilities and acquired residential buildings repurposed to college needs. The campus is characterized by a beloved landscape, yet it is also densely settled and therefore must approach its long-term space and land needs strategically.

The Master Plan Update addresses several issues facing the University, including: identifying buildings that are not efficiently utilized and repurposing, re-using, or re-assigning them; determining which programs and functions have the greatest needs for space and/or co-location; and strategically relocating functions and programs to create a more cohesive, functional and engaging campus community.

We identified approximately twenty re-use, renovation, and reassignment projects that would better align space with programmatic needs, improve functional relationships, promote greater accessibility for students and faculty, and enhance and support a sense of community. In the long-term, this re-use strategy will also decrease or eliminate reliance on off-campus leased space. To achieve this, we identified suitable “swing spaces,” i.e. unassigned spaces which will accommodate the interim moves for spaces to be renovated or re-assigned.