Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and MackeyMitchell Associates, a St. Lous-based architectural firm, are among eight finalists for a nationwide design competition exploring the future of university housing.
The competition, sponsored by the Association of College and University Housing Officers–International (ACUHO-I) and the 21st Century Project, chose the finalists from 46 entries. The next stage for the finalists will be a presentation before nine jury members at the Wyndham Hotel and Resort in Phoenix, Ariz., on Jan. 26. The jury will consist of one university chief financial officer, one university chief academic officer, one university student affairs officer, one university chief housing officer, one student, two architects, and two industry design professionals.The winning entry will be awarded $25,000.
SIUE's entry involved a team of students and housing officials from the University who joined forces with architects MackeyMitchell Associates to create a diverse design group. “We believe this collaboration will set us apart because all of the other finalists are solely architectural firms,” said Michael Schultz, director of University Housing for SIUE. “We’ve supplied input from students, operations, residence life and administration to MackeyMitchell for what we think will be a more comprehensive entry,” Schultz said.
“We wanted to include sustainability,” he said, “while incorporating what is known as ‘the new urbanism’ into the design and giving the design the flexibility to anticipate.future technology. We think it’s very exciting.”
Narbeth Emmanuel, vice chancellor for Student Affairs, said he believes the SIUE entry will be very competitive “because of the nature of the team” which includes many of the leadership aspects of SIUE residential life. “It is, indeed, most impressive that SIUE has qualified for the final round which really reflects on the leadership and the quality of our staff in University Housing, as well as the expertise of MackeyMithcell,” Emmanuel said. “The team’s commitment to excellence, forward thinking and creativity is also reflected in our housing program at SIUE.”
The 21st Century Project is a multi-phased initiative leading to the construction of a new, state-of-the-art residential facility for colleges and universities. In addition to creating one or more prototype residential facilities on several campuses, the project will assist colleges and universities in designing new residential facilities that reflect the ever changing roles that residences play in the collegiate experience.
“The demographics of the jury (to choose a winner) was selected based on the idea of who we felt should be at the discussion table when a college or university is considering the construction of new housing,” said Coakley. “Each of these individuals will bring their own experiences and viewpoints as they try to determine which design is the winner.”
To further the educational mission of the 21st Century Project, the jury presentations will be open to the public.
Other finalists included are (in alpha order): American Campus Communities & WDG Architecture Team (Austin, Texas). Angelini and Associates Architects (Ann Arbor, Mich.), Bergmeyer Associates Inc. (Boston), CSO Schenkel Shultz (Indianapolis), Levi Architects (Boston), Marks, Thomas Architects (Baltimore), and RATIO Architects Inc. (Indianapolis).
Designers, students, architects, and college housing professionals from around the world submitted design proposals for an individual student living unit. Each contestant was challenged to incorporate concepts such as flexibility, sustainability, student development, security, and technology as they created a vision for residence hall rooms and suites 25 years into the future.
“There are some truly innovative ideas represented in these designs,” said Michael Coakley, coordinator of the 21st Century Project. “It’s exciting to see these proposals and think that we’re actually seeing the future of college housing being created.”
Future competitions will build upon the winning entry from January’s event. Designers will create ways to cluster the room into halls or pods, and those clusters will then be grouped into a building. “The ultimate goal of this project has always been the actual construction of a new, prototype residence hall,” said Coakley.
For more information about the competition and the 21st Century Project, visit the Web site at www.21stCenturyProject.com or contact ACUHO-I at 614.292.0099. Press inquiries should be directed to James Baumann at james@acuho-i.org.
