Mid Michigan College

For the past 15 years Hobbs + Black Architects have been responsible for new facilities, existing facility expansion, and renovations across MID Michigan College’s two campuses. The longstanding collaborative relationship with Mid led to the creation of the college’s 2023 Master Plan.

Mid’s last Master Plan was completed in 2016. Since that time higher education has seen a significant shift from traditional in person classes to virtual. From a physical facilities standpoint the shift presented a number of challenges Mid was eager to explore in the college’s next Master Plan.

Hobbs + Black Architects approached the Master Plan through collaboration with the faculty, staff, students, and the greater surrounding communities. During the discovery & data analysis phase of the Master Plan information was collected through in person & virtual meetings with the user groups, online surveys, and extensive existing facility assessments. The information collected was synthesized into a number of building & site specific goals.

Throughout the discovery & data analysis phase one common ideal resonated louder than any other, “leverage the existing”. With no shortage of community, student, and staff pride for Mid many believe that Mid needed to focus on elevating the interior of existing facilities in order to reach the next level of engagement / success. The delineation of the Master Plan’s building goals was broken into the following categories: corridor improvements, active spaces, quiet spaces, flexible classrooms, cutting edge labs, spaces for community engagement, support spaces, and faculty upgrades. Site goals were broken into the categories of: circulation improvements, active spaces, quiet spaces, outdoor learning spaces, new facilities, spaces for community engagement, parking, and site upgrades.

Hobbs + Black worked closely with Mid to ensure the building & site goals were explored holistically across both campuses to ensure consistent experiences for students between the two campuses. Each spread of the Master Plan showed how the given goal could be implemented on each campus to create a more consistent brand message / experience. The approach allowed for balanced action on a given goals which aids in clearer understanding and implementation of the Master Plan.