Architects charged with assisting the College in developing new student housing options unveiled the results of over a month of research last night, proposing seven possible building sites and delineating general guidelines for how the new facilities should be planned.
“Our goal is to try to understand the big ideas,” Joseph Ferut, president of Joseph Ferut and Associates said. “We have a saying: there’s nothing worse than a bad idea well executed.”
Among the sites being considered is the lot north of the football field, the parking lot above and the spaces to the east and west of North Dorm, and the property just north or Stevenson Dining Hall. The grounds surrounding Old Barrows and Johnson House are being looked at as well, along with the possibility of adding extra floors to Harvey, Kade and Price Houses. Another possible site lies behind the Little Theater.
At least two different spots will likely be used. According to the present schedule, the final location and design for the buildings will be settled in June 2003, and construction should be completed in 2004.
Although exact plans are still in the works, the new housing is intended to be a departure from more traditional dorm models, with the ideal of providing more alluring on-campus options for upperclassmen.
These buildings will likely be apartment or townhouse style, with single and double rooms opening up to a common living space. The double rooms will be open to co-ed living arrangements for Juniors and Seniors, according to Residential Life and Services Director Kim Lafond.
When finished, the new housing should create enough space for around 150 students, to be culled from the roughly 900 who now live in off campus housing.
Robert Kobet of Sustainassance International emphasized the importance of sustainable design in the poject, and stressed the need for the buildings to not only meet contemporary standards of sustainable design, but be adaptable to future innovation.
“We hope the action of building itself with enhance,” he added. “Sustainability is not a matter of style. It’s an attitude.
“Sustainability is like running in place,” he said. “We’re looking at whether we can be restorative.”
Ferut emphasized that the new construction will most likely not involve tearing down old structures.
“’Demolish’ really isn’t in our vocabulary,” he said.
Although the final decision will be made by the administration, a New Housing Advisory Committee, composed of seven administrators and three students, has been formed to make recommendations.
Two more Student Housing Forums are scheduled for the rest of the semester. The Forum in March will deal with the interior design and layout of the apartments, and the Forum in April will be dedicated to interior and exterior design issues.