Northwood University

When Northwood University recognized that it needed to continue to improve and maintain the campus and its facilities, it teamed with TowerPinkster to develop a new Master Plan for its Midland Campus. TowerPinkster worked with faculty, staff, and community members in order to determine the primary concerns of the campus. This resulted in three themes and principles to guide the planning committee: Identity – maintaining the natural character and campus culture, Community – developing a “center of campus” to encourage student interaction, and Growth – developing an infrastructure development plan that meets current needs and plans for the future. Other facets of these themes were updating student housing from the original 1960s, enhancing pedestrian navigation, and highlighting the unique educational mission of Northwood University to “…develop the future leaders of a global, free-enterprise society.”

TowerPinkster worked with Northwood University in order to create a Master Plan that encompassed the three themes generated at the start of the planning process and planned for the future enhancement and success of Northwood University. The Master Plan organizes future buildings into use districts: Academic Core Use Districts to develop a central academic core at the heart of campus; Residential Use Districts to address the current immediate need on campus; and Athletic Use Districts which will accommodate and reinforce a culture of fitness on campus, which will be accomplished by developing the southeast corner of campus with new fields and intramural courts. All of these along with a new north-south pedestrian mall, tree preservation, and new facilities creates a plan to embody the school’s mission of developing the “future leaders of a global, free-enterprise society” with all the space they need to do so for years to come.