Project File: Enriching spiritual life

North Village at Baylor University, Waco, Texas, is a living-learning community of 600 upperclassmen with facilities tailored to meet their needs. This 221,810-square-foot project, with three, four-story residence halls and a community center, integrates academic opportunities in a living environment and includes a faculty-in-residence.

Situated on the northwest corner of the campus, the village creates strong student connections to dining, the library, the academic core, recreation facilities, and the engineering and computer science building. The $29.3 million project, Georgian in style to reflect the unique campus context, opened last August.

A critical component of the design process was intense focus group and survey activity with students to investigate ways in which the physical environment contributes to or detracts from an individual's spiritual development. More than 3,000 students took part. The design features a path etched with scripture verses and a garden, which offers a place for meditation. The heart is the community center with design features symbolic of Ecclesiastes 3:1. The Four Seasons 3:1 Cafe continues this theme.

The architect for this project is Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas + Company (Norfolk, Va.). The Beck Group (Dallas) is the general contractor.