Iowa State's new residence hall is a fresh take on traditional housing

Geoffroy Hall, a 193,000–square-foot residence hall, is the first new residence hall on the Iowa State University campus in Ames in more than a decade.

The eight-story, 784-bed building has 392 rooms and features a number of formal and informal gathering spaces.

"The sooner we create meaningful connections among students, the more likely they are to graduate,” says Peter Englin, director of Iowa State's Department of Residence. "The design of Geoffroy Hall enhances our house system by giving our students places to both naturally and intentionally cross paths and build those connections."

Construction of the $49.5 million began in May 2015 and was completed in December 2016. The project has been designed to meet LEED Gold certification.

Enrollment at the university has grown 35 percent over the last decade, and over that same period, the number of students seeking to live on campus has increased by 55 percent. More than 12,200 students live in university housing--in 19 residence halls, two owned apartment complexes and one leased apartment complex.

Opus Design Build is the design builder, and Opus AE Group is the architect and structural engineer of record,