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Designing for Delight: Making Everyday Campus Spaces Special

By Nathan Woods, AIA, NCARB

November 5, 2025
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Students don’t fall in love with a campus because of a single building — they fall in love with how it feels: the rhythm of daily life, the chance encounters, the quiet moments between the big moments.

As architects, engineers, and interior designers, we often spend time on the big pieces — residence halls, student centers, labs, libraries, stadiums. But when we walk a campus after the ribbon cutting, we see where students actually live — at the tables tucked just outside the dining hall or gathered around a fireplace in the corner of a commons. These are the spaces that quietly define campus life.

These small spaces shape the student experience. They’re where community happens.
Grace College - Lancer Lofts - Exterior Student Housing
Grace College - Lancer Lofts - Exterior Student Housing

Everyday Spaces Matter Most

Walk across any campus and you’ll find the energy in the in-between spaces — the corridors, lounges, courtyards, and lawns that connect the more formal destinations. These are the places that make a campus feel alive.

At Indiana Tech, one of the most popular study spots for the students in a new residence hall turned out not to be a classroom or lounge at all, but a wide hallway with a countertop and a view. Students claim it because it has natural light, power outlets, and a view of city and campus life moving around them. Simple design decisions created an experience of connection and belonging — without any fanfare.

You’ll see that pattern again and again. When campuses invest just a little more thought into these intentionally connective spaces, they see outsized returns in how students interact, linger, and engage.

Delight Comes from Details, Not Dollars

Great design isn’t about big budgets. In fact, delight lives in the details — in the texture of brick under your hand, the story of a worn wooden bleacher, or the way morning light hits a wall.

At Grace College, a modest renovation of a historic hotel honored its remarkable past — including hosting Billy Sunday — and transformed that heritage into an authentically Grace welcome center where prospective students meet the campus, starting and ending their tours and beginning their Grace College journey.

Moments like that don’t take millions of dollars. They take attentiveness — to how students move, where they pause, what makes them feel at home, and what makes a place authentic.
Cozy lobby area in Grace College's Westminster Hall with couches and warm lights.
Cozy lobby area in Grace College's Westminster Hall with couches and warm lights.

Design for Moments

Designing people-first places means focusing on the everyday moments that make students feel seen and cared for.

The best spaces anticipate how student life really unfolds — the impromptu conversations, the laughter on the lawn, the professor meeting a student under a tree. When design gives room for those interactions, a campus becomes more than buildings; it becomes a community.

This is one of the simplest, most powerful ways to do it: make the ordinary feel extraordinary.

Delight isn’t about grandeur — it’s about generosity.

When design gives something back to the people who use it every day, the whole campus feels alive.

Every corner of campus has the potential to make someone’s day better — and that’s where great design begins. So here’s the question: Where are the overlooked spaces on your campus that could become someone’s favorite place?
Huntington University HUB Student Lounge
Huntington University HUB Student Lounge

If you’re ready to bring new life to the everyday moments on your campus, let’s start a conversation. Reach out to explore how thoughtful design can make your campus feel even more alive.

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