The new Alice Paul Residence Hall provides a residential setting that supports the academic mission of Swarthmore College. This modern building contributes to a campus notable for its intense landscape and its long tradition of stone buildings.
"Swarthmore College's housing philosophy is based on the belief that residence hall living enhances education by contributing to an individual's academic, social and personal development," according to C. Stuart Hain, Associate Vice President for Facilities and Services.
Through collaboration with Swarthmore's steering committee, the architect developed a concept for the hall module to encourage a rich level of interaction among students through wide corridors, strategic location of entries and stairs, and generous common space located on each floor. A two-story main lounge is the "living room" for the building, and features an open stairway which allows students to "see and be seen" as they enter the building.
The campus' most iconic image is the Main Lawn, a three-sided open space that opens the campus to the town. A land-use study identified this as a prevalent typology occurring throughout the campus at a variety of scales. The residence halls adopt this typology, defining three sides of a courtyard open to the western sun and views of the Main Lawn. Common spaces and building entrances open directly to the courtyard. The main lounge (including a roof deck and upper floor lounge) act as a beacon terminating a walk along the east edge of the Main Lawn.
Designed to be LEED certified, the residence hall incorporates many sustainable design features, including a green roof. (30,000 s.f., Phase I). The building also uses significantly less energy than code standards (up to 30%) and uses high performance low-e glass - with fritted glass intended to reduce bird impacts.
The jury said, "This is one of the best examples of a more traditional vernacular, introducing modernism . . . great landscaping details . . .sets a certain bar for the next development which is important . . ."
Project Team: Swarthmore College with William Rawn Associates Architects, Inc. and LeMessurier Engineers, structural engineering; Cosentini Associates, Inc., M/E/P; and Olin Partnership, landscape architecture. |
