Healthier Student Housing with Tracy Steward (CMTA)

What if the biggest gains in student success begin with the building systems students never see but feel every day?

This conversation looks at how agile design thinking reshapes student housing by taking a deeper look at mechanical systems, building envelopes, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. Tracy Steward, BSME, MBA, LEED AP, Fitwell Ambassador, and the most award-winning female ASHRAE Technology Award recipient, shares how engineering decisions rooted in wellness, sustainability, and long-term performance can improve comfort, lower operational costs, and create healthier learning environments for students.

Early collaboration and integrated decision-making lead to smarter investments and better outcomes for universities. When design teams move beyond silos and consider the full life cycle of a building, student housing becomes a strategic tool for recruitment, retention, and long-term campus success.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Agile design
• Student housing systems
• HVAC strategy
• Chilled beam systems
• Building envelopes
• Campus sustainability
• Student health and wellness
• Design team collaboration

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