Approval of New Honors Residence Hall

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 a student’s neighborhood to another floor. The lounge will include casual seating, a television, and an expanded kitchen with additional stoves, allowing for multiple people to prepare and serve meals at once and creating a lively opportunity for gathering.

On one hand, students enjoyed not needing to share the bathroom with all of the other students on their floor, but on the other hand, being locked out was very frustrating. In response to this love-hate relationship with the double suite bathrooms, the design team decided to implement a wet core style bathroom in the new Honors residence hall. This style is characterized by multiple private bathrooms located in the center of the floor which includes a sink, toilet and shower.

A focus group of students from other universities that VMDO Architects have worked with identified a desire for more common spaces, gathering spaces and studying spaces. The first floors of all four buildings in the new Honors residence hall will consist solely of these shared spaces. The classroom spaces and study spaces are lacking in Hume Hall. To address this need, the team developed a schedule to determine how many classrooms would be needed in the new hall to support the Honors program. The designers included multiple individual study spaces, group study spaces and flexible spaces that can be used for mixed purposes, such as large group lectures and events.

A great hall in the student commons could be used as a 200 to 250 student lecture hall during the day and a social lounge in the evening. Additionally, there are plans to include a library in one of the buildings as well as mindfulness spaces, maker spaces, and an ensemble room to provide interdisciplinary experiences and encourage creativity and interaction between residents.

Three of the four buildings of the new Honors residence hall will partially enclose a courtyard. The courtyard could be used for events such as outdoor movie nights and the Student Honors Organization’s annual Honors Barbecue. Additional green space behind the new residence hall will feature a hammock garden. The Yulee Pit will be completely preserved and easily accessible to students from the new residence hall. There are also plans for a small cafe and terrace in the student commons that can be accessed by the new streetscape surrounding the hall. The design of the new Honors residence hall is influenced by its surrounding architecture. The proposed location is thought to be in a transitional zone. To the south, there are mid-century designs, such as Beaty Towers, while historical buildings lie to the north.

The design of this building will create a smoother transition between these regions of campus. The architects hope to preserve the character of the campus at the pedestrian level with UF’s standard brickwork. The first floors of the four buildings will be encased in brick, while the upper levels will have reflective panels and glass, similar to the Herbert Wertheim College of Engineering. For visitors, this impressive building will serve as a wonderful first experience and impression of UF’s campus.

The University of Florida recognizes that while great care has been taken to maintain the buildings on campus, there was not a significant capital investment in redesigning buildings to accommodate what students need today. To become a top-five public university, they also recognize that they need to be able to compete with other public universities in terms of their housing facilities. Through the Housing Master Plan, jumpstarted by the construction of this new Honors residence hall, UF hopes to better support students in what they need academically and socially to succeed.

Story by Catherine Pereira

Photos courtesy of VMDO Architects, PC

Design by Emily Miller