The Westside I (WS I) building was designed as a pilot project to implement Central New Mexico Community College’s (CNM) recent paradigm shift to a more interactive and social approach to education.  During programming, Gould Evans collaborated with a group of younger faculty in order to imagine alternative ways that academic services and interaction with faculty could be integrated into the busy daily routines of students. The two programmatic strategies that emerged out of this collaboration – the Learning Commons Loop and the Faculty Office Pod – put the student educational experience front and center.
Photography: Art Gray
The largest post-secondary institution in New Mexico, CNM features seven campuses distributed throughout the Albuquerque metropolitan area.  The school strives to be a nimble institution that quickly responds to a growth of the city, changing industry demands and evolution in educational practices.  Along these lines, the CNM Westside Campus opened in June 2003 on the edge of Albuquerque anticipating the city’s growth west of the Rio Grande River. Photography: Art Gray
By making it the primary circulation space and looping it around the entire floor plate, the Learning Commons Loop becomes the main organizer of the building and immerses students in the breadth of available academic resources.  It offers spaces for tutoring, computer usage, social gathering, and study.  The rich varie...