Architectural Digest — “How Architects Are Innovating the College Dorm”
August 13, 2018
“For decades, college dormitories were bare-bones—to put it mildly. They provided basic living units constructed from the cheapest, toughest materials available while squeezing the largest number of students into the smallest amount of space—without much else. However, in recent years, the design of residence halls has undergone a fundamental shift as universities and colleges seek to make their campuses magnets for the brightest young minds. …
That new sense of dynamism is also on full display at the Campus North Residential Commons that Studio Gang designed for the University of Chicago. Comprised of three linked towers on a full-block site, the complex is tied directly into its Hyde Park neighborhood with retail spaces and plazas at street level. Inside, the towers are organized around so called House Hubs—shared three-level living spaces that penetrate multiple floors for each cluster of 100 students, equipped with soft seating and kitchens to create the feeling of home, even as all 800 students share other amenities, including a top-floor reading room and a dining hall.”
Photo: Steve Hall © Hedrich Blessing
