Recognizing that there are five generations of members now using credit union services, BCI is sponsoring Design Studios at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Architecture and Urban Planning aimed at creating a branch environment that is relevant to Gen Y or Millenials, the youngest of the five.
The first studio, which is based in Chicago, Illinois, puts four teams of graduate architecture students to work designing a credit union branch built around the needs and habits of today’s emerging generations of financial services users. The students began by studying how credit unions interact with their members today, then took a look into the future to anticipate how trends such as the expansion of the internet, the ubiquity of social networking sites, continued evolution of payment systems and other factors might affect that interaction and what future service demands might arise as a result.
“This studio is the latest manifestation of our longstanding partnership with UWM and the School of Architecture,” said David Jaeckels, BCI’s Executive Vice President and UWM alum. “We’re very pleased to be helping to train the next generation of architects and designers while creating something that will bring value to America’s credit unions for years to come. And we’re not going to stop here; next we’re proposing a studio aimed at designing the ultimate in Green credit union facilities.”
Teams’ final designs will be completed in May, and will be published in University publications and on this site. For information on how these groundbreaking design elements can be incorporated into your next building project, contact David Jaeckels at 800-222-1509 or by email at djaeckels@bcihq.com.