Designing the future of higher education.

In today's changing economic climate, companies and institutions which are not just surviving but thriving are taking action to secure their competitive edge. In the world of higher education, quite a few colleges and universities competing to attract students have in recent years turned to The Eggers Group, as others have in decades before, to design renovated, expanded or new facilities which not only accommodate diverse technical, athletic, recreational and housing needs within finite budgets.

The Eggers Group has gained a strong reputation for not only meeting these needs, but also doing so in a manner which enhances and compliments existing campus architecture.

Founded in 1903 as the Office of John Russell Pope, Architect, the firm changed its name in 1937 to Eggers & Higgins upon the death of Mr. Pope, with Otto R. Eggers becoming the principal architect. In 1970, the firm changed its name once again to The Eggers Partnership, and in 1976, when the firm became a professional corporation, it was renamed The Eggers Group P.C. With over 90 years experience and 55 years practice in New York City, The Eggers Group has gained a reputation as a reliable, high-quality architectural and design firm.

Currently, there are three directors of The Eggers Group, who handle day-to-day administration and policy-making and own the majority of the company shares. They are Peter B. Halfon, AIA, who serves as managing director; and directors David L. Finchi, AIA and Robert L. Bien, AIA.

A design review board and total quality management team review each project from its inception to completion to insure that the firm has met the needs of their clients as well as maintained their own standards of excellence. Advanced scheduling and monitoring techniques efficiently control both individual projects and overall firm operations.

Operating with a staff of 40, The Eggers Group offers a full range of service, including: architectural design, master planning, feasibility studies, facility programming, space planning, interior design, value and life cycle analysis and facilities management.

Intergraph and AutoCad computer-aided drafting systems are employed on nearly all projects, giving The Eggers Group advanced production capabilities and allowing the firm to produce drawings quickly and accurately.

The firm is actively involved in the design of a variety of projects, primarily focused on educational/athletic facilities, healthcare buildings, corporate design and various other projects, including the occasional religious structure rehabilitation.

Each project team is headed by a principal-in-charge (director), who then interfaces with the client's senior management. A project designer and project manager are then assigned, who are charged with day-to-day responsibilities of production and construction administration.

Current projects being undertaken by The Eggers Group include the campus master plan for The King's College in Sterling Forest, NY; the State University of New York Health Science Center in Brooklyn; and the recently completed master plan for the University of Vermont. Other recent projects include the design of a new addition to the County College of Morris, NJ; a new athletic facility at the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ; a new dormitory at St. peter's College in Jersey City, NJ; and a joint project in association with The Spector Group for a new Aquatic Center for the 1998 Goodwill Games in East Meadow, NY, which will eventually serve as a permanent public recreational facility.

Over the years, The Eggers Group has also designed projects for Fairleigh Dickenson University, Iona College, Jersey City State College, Nassau Community College, Niagara University, Wagner College, West Virginia State, Indiana University, Manhattan College, the Polytechnic Institute of New York, St. Joseph's Seminary and the United States Military Academy at West Point.

"One of the unique requirements for institutions of higher education are for athletic and recreational facilities, swimming pools and gymnasiums," says Director Robert L. Bien, AIA. "Many of the facilities were built in the 40s and 50s and have outlived their usefulness. These institutions are in very competitive situations to attract students, many of whom are attracted to a college's recreational and dormitory facilities."

The result has been a priority on building new facilities, as older buildings are transformed for new uses and some demolished completely. Campus planning is a unique field, as some institutions seek new facilities architecturally harmonious to existing structures, some nearly a century old, while others strive for a more modern look.

"It's a mixed bag," says Bien. "Sometimes the cost of matching a Gothic-style are out of sight. In most cases, we are called in after the institution has already decided what they want to do. Most universities have sophisticated facilities and planning departments."

In other cases, The Eggers Group is consulted as master planners for the needs of a college well into the future. Form and function are equally important in meeting current and future needs.

On some occasions, elaborate master plans never come to fruition, due to lack of funding or other problems, which Bien admits, can be frustrating. "It's unfortunate, but you do a lot of work that never gets built," Bien observes, citing books on the subject and the firm's own archives.

In addition to their institutional work, The Eggers Group is also currently working with New York Telephone on the renovation of many of their office buildings, and are currently planning the exterior renovation of The Rolex Building at 665 Fifth Avenue, which they designed in 1972.

As in any field, you're only as good as your last client out the door, and in that vein, The Eggers Group scores high marks.

"They proved to have an excellent understanding of our needs and related issues, which helped ease and shorten the processes of planning and layout," says Carol L. Wooten, director of the Department of Planning and Construction at Brown University in Rhode Island, where The Eggers Group designed a 100,000 square-foot sports center.

"The firm has excellent start-to-finish" capabilities and successfully performed all phases of the project with uniformly high-quality service including program analysis, design documents and the construction phase," adds Jack L. Maranville, vice president of the Office of Institutional Planning at Union College in Schenectady, NY, where Eggers designed another gymnasium addition.

"During the design phase, The Eggers Group has consistently conscious of budget constraints and worked through difficult value engineering initiatives with me and my staff, as well as the program committee in making whatever trade-offs were required to effect an affordable and appropriate end product," recalls Allen J. Stewart, assistant vice president for facilities design at Rutgers University, where Eggers provided design and construction oversight for a new $16.4 million recreational facility."

"The working relationship was marked by competence, by listening closely to the client's needs, and by introducing excellent solutions to the problems before us," adds King's College President Friedhelm K. Radandt, who worked with The Eggers Group on a master plan for the college's campus relocation.

With recommendations like these, it is easy to see why The Eggers Group continues to be a leader in institutional planning and design nationwide.