Honors Residence Hall Approval of New
As part of the University of Florida’s goal to become a top-five public university, administrators plan to improve the campus over the next decade. These improvements include changes to student facilities, academic buildings and residence halls. The first significant housing development coming to campus is the construction of a new Honors Residence Hall. In February 2021, I spoke with Dr. Mark E. Law, the Director of the Honors Program, and Michele Westrick from VMDO Architects, the architecture firm that designed the new Honors residence hall as a part of the UF Housing Master Plan. VMDO Architects has been working on the Housing Master Plan since September of 2019. The first step in the creation of the Housing Master Plan was to look at the housing across campus and determine how best to elevate the quality of the student experience and facilities. Some existing residence halls, including Rawlings Hall, are scheduled for demolition, which will reduce the beds available on campus. The Honors residence hall would allow for some swing space by creating a large number of beds on campus. The new residence hall will be made up of four buildings containing 1,400 beds for students and resident assistants. Of the 1,400 beds, 300 will be in single units. This is a significant increase from the current Honors residence hall, Hume Hall, which only has 36 single units. The decision to include more single units was made in hopes of encouraging more students to return to campus after freshman year. The student involvement in this project was significant. The design of the hall was guided by listening sessions of students. Honors student leaders were polled within focus groups. Student surveys were issued to the broader community, including those living off-campus. VMDO Architects also consulted the National Career Development Association and the broad network of client universities with whom they have built other Honors colleges. From these perspectives, the design team identified a few essential factors to consider. Students preferred east campus as this was closer to classes and social areas, enjoyed having the common room with the integrated kitchen found in Hume Hall and had mixed feelings about the double suite bathroom. To address the desire to reside closer to the east campus, the team chose to build the new Honors residence hall in a prominent location on Museum Road, replacing the current Broward Outdoor Recreational Complex. The architects designed a two-story lounge on the ends of each building to continue to provide the social aspect of the kitchen and lounge. This allows for students from both floors to meet, interact and cook together, extending Story by Catherine Pereira Photos courtesy of VMDO Architects, PC Design by Emily Miller
6
Spring 2021
