CARLISLE, Pa. — Dickinson College recently earned LEED Platinum certification for their $19 million High Street Residence Hall completed last year.

The 40,000-square-foot building was designed by New York-based Deborah Berke Partner (DBP) to enhance the residential experience for students as well as to qualify for LEED certification. 

The building opened in August 2018 to house 129 students in single- and double-occupancy rooms. 91��Ƶ include ample community space with a great room, living room, kitchen, outdoor patio, indoor bicycle storage room and common spaces for lounging and study.

The building is the college’s first new residence hall in more than 40 years.

On a site that faces the main thoroughfare of Carlisle, DBP designed this new residence hall at Dickinson College to present a formal front to the street and a more casual face to a lawn (and future quadrangle) to the south.

The design of the residence hall includes stone facades on the public side which provides a modern interpretation of the stone of the historic Dickinson campus across the street.

On the lawn side, DBP designed an active and light-filled “campus-connected” facade of large windows and weathered-zinc panels. Whereas the front of the building is at home among Dickinson’s historic buildings, the back activates its environs and fills the building with light.

The building’s E-shaped plan creates a pair of intimate outdoor courtyards for casual gatherings.

The high-performance landscape, designed by Andropogon, manages stormwater on-site.

Inside, sky lit staircases encourage active movement though the building. Hallways double as social spaces with lounge areas and study nooks. Energy-efficient exterior walls and roof, high-efficiency windows and a connection to Dickinson’s central energy plant work to help reduce carbon emissions.

Additionally, an upgraded stormwater-management system, including four rain gardens, minimizes impact to the existing community systems. The project’s landscaping includes 92 new trees and more than 16,000 other plants.

The opening of the hall was the final phase of a historic six-year campus enhancement effort that includes a new athletic training center, soccer field and interdisciplinary greenhouse as well as an expansion of the Kline Fitness Center and Rector Science Complex.

Lancaster County-based Benchmark Construction also led the work on the building.

Reports from Deborah Berke Partners and Dickinson College contributed to this story.

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — The Central Michigan University Board of Trustees recently approved $13 million in funding for the first phase of their residence life infrastructure improvement plan.

It is the first of three phases in a $76 million plan that includes a number of campus and facility renovations.

“This project will significantly improve existing residence life facilities, construct new facilities and plan for future improvements,” said Barrie Wilkes, vice president for Finance and Administrative Services. “Every part of this project is focused on supporting the success of our students.”

Phase one will fund the following initiatives in 2019:

• Modernization of the North Residence Hall Complex
• Several South Residence Hall Complex projects, including the addition of interior access controls and improvements to sidewalks and pavement, exterior lighting, and mechanical systems
• Improved ventilation and exterior lighting enhancements in the East Residence Hall Complex

The first phase also includes demolition of Barnes Hall, which opened in 1951 and is the only remaining residence hall on campus with community bathrooms.

Kathleen Gardner, director of residence life, said decommissioning a residence hall always brings fond memories for alumni. In this case, that includes Leader Advancement Scholars, whose living and learning community has been in Barnes.

“Barnes Hall has been a great home to thousands of students during their time at CMU. There are strong ties to a building where lifelong friendships were formed and memories were made,” said Gardner. “This is a time to celebrate the history of Barnes as we also look to evolve our residence life program for generations to come.”

Additional phases of the project — anticipated for 2020 and 2021 — include:

• Modernization of the Merrill and Robinson residential restaurants
• Construction of a North Campus Wellness Center
• Creation of a Central Plaza green space between Sweeney and Thorpe halls
• Construction of a new parking lot south of Broomfield Road
• Planning for the demolition and replacement of Northwest Apartments and Kewadin Village

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PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Shawmut Design and Construction joined the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) to break ground on the institute’s first new student residence in 30 years.

Designed by award-winning architect and RISD alumnus Nader Tehrani and his Boston-based firm NADAAA, the new 43,500-square-foot residence hall will house 153 students on six floors. Part of a larger quad enhancement project, it will feature amenities like workrooms, makerspace, bike storage, a shared kitchen, and outdoor terrace, and upon completion, it will allow for the phased renovations of Nickerson and Homer Halls.

“We’re incredibly proud to build RISD its first new residence facility in 30 years,” said Ron Simoneau, vice president at Shawmut. “With collaboration, paired with Shawmut’s IPD and lean construction principles, at the center of the construction and design teams approach, I am confident this project will be a success while marking a transformational moment for the campus.”

Slated to open in August 2019, the state-of-the-art project will engage an Integrated Project Delivery Method (IPD) to collaboratively fuse the talents of the team. The innovative design is influenced by thoughtful input from the campus community, including common spaces for socializing, making, reflecting and creative expression, and is tailored to meet the needs of RISD’s art and design students.

The new residence hall will be located at 60 Waterman St. on the campus’ residential quad. Site work on the new residence building began this August and included excavation and retaining wall construction. In June 2019, renovation of Nickerson Hall begins and is expected to be completed in August 2020. At that time, Homer Hall Phase 1 renovation will begin and will be completed in January 2021. Phase 2 of the Homer Hall renovation begins in January 2021 and will be complete in August of that same year.

Construction of the new residence hall is one facet of RISD’s 2015 Campus Master Plan. One update to the original plan was that RISD engaged NADAAA in the fall of 2016 for a study of the campus’ residential quad. The goals of the study were to develop 500 beds of interconnected first-year housing on the residential quad, to allow for the renovation of Homer and Nickerson Halls to address deferred maintenance while maintaining overall bed count, to create student-centered common spaces, to improve campus and city connections to the residential quad in order to maximize accessibility to and within the residential quad, to address sustainability, and to provide updated space for existing administrative offices.

NADAAA’s work over the academic year included numerous meetings with campus constituents, a student survey, monthly meetings with the campus project team, presentations to the Board of Trustees in October, February and June, development of multiple options that were reduced through the project team, Campus Master Plan Committee and Board meetings to a final scheme that was presented to the Board in June of 2017.

“We are thrilled to be able to offer a new residence hall that so fully supports the education we offer our students,” said Jack Silva, vice president of RISD Campus Services. “Planning the residence hall has been a true collaborative effort and we are pleased to be working again with alumnus Nader Tehrani and to have Shawmut as a partner in leading the project.”

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KANSAS CITY, MO. — The Kansas City Art Institute broke ground on a new student residence hall and dining center earlier this month, officially taking the project off the institution’s wish list.

The facility was designed by Doug Stockman and Alissa Wehmueller of Helix Architecture + Design, based in Kansas City, Mo., and Christopher Carvell of Christopher Carvell Architects based in Denver.

Kansas City-based JE Dunn Construction is the general contractor for the project. JE Dunn Project Executive David Young said that the target completion date is December of 2019, with a goal of occupancy for the spring semester of 2020.

“The entire JE Dunn team was excited to break ground on the Kansas City Art Institute residence hall and dining center in July of 2018,” said Young.

“This new student center will include a new residence hall in addition to the Wylie Dining Center and the Café Nerman. It will be a wonderful place for students to relax, engage and dine from a wide range of healthy menu options.”

According to , officials at the Art Institute have estimated construction costs at over $25 million.

“The last time we did this was 1968 when we built that,” said KCAI President Tony Jones to KCUR 89.3 while pointing to the current residence hall. “To say that it’s a little bit out of date… would be an understatement.”

KCUR 89.3 reports that Jones said the old dorm will be repurposed for academic space, and a “brand new living center” will be created to better fit the needs of contemporary students in art, design, craft, and technology.

“Not just as a place for students to be able to rest after the labors of the day, but also they’re going to be able to dine. And they’re going to be working in new studios,” he said. “This is an initiative that we call sewing — sleep, eat, work.”

Located in Kansas City, KCAI is a private, independent four-year college of art and design awarding the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with 13 studio majors. Founded in 1885, KCAI is Kansas City’s oldest arts organization.

The new facility will house a 244-bed residence hall, the Wylie Dining Center, and the Nerman Café. The residence hall features double-occupancy semi-suites with private baths and gathering spaces, and a student gallery, large living room and gaming center.

“The contemporary student coming to KCAI to study deserves the best possible living space and the residence hall will be exactly what the students and their parents want – a home that is comfortable, relaxing and safe, with high connectivity,” said Jones. “After a day of working in the studio, they can return to a supportive community and a place they can make their own.”

A report from KCUR 89.3 contributed to this story.

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