Stretching Dollars
Nov 1, 2009 12:00 PM, By Nadia Zhiri
Through strategic spending, it's possible to stay within budget and upgrade residential facilities to meet student expectations.
Strategic focus, big impact
Remodeling an older residence hall can pose unique challenges, but it doesn't have to bust the budget. Two examples of how campuses tightened their focus to transform their buildings:
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At Stephens College, a private women's college in Columbia, Mo., the Georgian-style Wood and Columbia Halls had not functioned as residence halls for years. Growing enrollment prompted the school to use the buildings again as student housing. Campus leaders faced a double challenge: to affordably modernize the halls within the $5.2 million budget and to work within the limits posed by their status on the National Register of Historic Buildings.
The design focused on those areas that would be most immediate to student satisfaction. Single rooms were transformed into a group of two- and four-bed apartments or one- and two-bedroom suites. High-priority areas such as upgraded baths, new kitchens, computer labs and a fitness center made the halls friendlier to today's lifestyles. Transitional spaces got a makeover — new elevators, better lighting and updated interiors, including restoration of the original high ceilings. The halls, which are situated near one another on the campus quad, now house up to 155 upperclasswomen.
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On the campus of the University of Kansas, Margaret Hashinger Hall was a well-loved, but tired 1960s residence hall that had been built as a woman's residence hall, but in recent years had become the residence of choice for fine-arts students. The original design lacked the program spaces necessary to support fine-arts students.
Campus leaders and students wanted to retain the character of the building while making upgrades. In this case, bedrooms and bathrooms were left intact upon student request. Improvements were made across the building, but certain high-value areas were prioritized: interactive spaces, entry areas, technology relevant to fine-arts students and green design elements such as re-use of materials, improved daylighting and views to the outdoors.
Today, Hashinger Hall is a bustling arts community housing 385 students. A multipurpose theater with movable seating, a temporary stage, entry lobby and large storage areas serves as performance center, gallery and lobby. Acoustically separate music rooms, painting and textile rooms, a design resource center, dance studio, and conference and study rooms enable round-the-clock creativity.
Students socialize in an intimate lounge with a fireplace that reuses limestone removed from the pre-renovated Hall. On either side of the fireplace, doors open to the food-service deck, where diners appreciate panoramic views of the main campus.
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