UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT PETER J WERTH RESIDENCE TOWER PIONEERING LIVING AND LEARNING, PEDAGOGY PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION, THROUGH TECHNOLOGY LITERACY, PLACEMAKING COLLABORATION
UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT PETER J WERTH RESIDENCE TOWER PIONEERING LIVING AND LEARNING, PEDAGOGY PEDAGOGICAL INNOVATION, THROUGH TECHNOLOGY LITERACY, PLACEMAKING COLLABORATION
INTRODUCTION Dynamic living environments provide students with exceptional residential experiences that foster a culture of academic success. They help students prepare to thrive in the “new normal” of perpetual change by meeting young peoples’ developmental needs and advancing the evolution of the educational process.
“If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday’s, we rob them of tomorrow.” -John Dewey
These residence halls want an architecture which enables new pedagogies to flourish and laboratories in which to reinvent them, approaching teaching and learning as experimental, iterative processes with students as change agents. UConn’s new Peter J. Werth Residence Tower illustrates the opportunities and challenges of designing for these dynamic programs in residential settings. Its goals evolved throughout the design process, and will continue evolving through observing, assessing, and improving the life of the community it now incubates. Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s holistic application of the livingand-learning model enables technology-enhanced, active, studentcentered pedagogy in the context of residential education. UConn’s decision to locate it at the brow of the Hilltop Precinct positions Peter J. Werth Residence Tower as a campus beacon, symbolizing the importance of its pioneering mission. The resulting residence hall creates a welcoming, inspiring place for fostering collaborative community devoted to innovative living and learning. This booklet presents the broadly applicable design principles that allow it to nurture generations of future students as they reinvent education while inventing themselves.
RESIDENCERESI AS INCUBATOR D E NC E
The university conceived the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower project to implement it’s 2014 Master Plan’s goals for promoting STEM education, expanding residential options for learning community students, enriching student life generally, and making the campus more sustainable.
A S I NCU BAT OR “Through a focus on supporting STEM education and growing the research enterprise at UConn, the State of Connecticut is investing more than $1.54B in campus development over the next ten years through the Next Generation Connecticut program. This investment will transform the campus in every aspect of academic and student life, and advance the environmental sustainability of the campus.” - 2014 UConn Master Plan
PROGRAM SUMMARY This innovative residence provides a home for 727 students as well as community-gathering and collaboration places to encourage their academic success and stimulate innovation across disciplines. The 210,000-square-foot residence hall houses mostly freshmen and sophomores, in eight living-and-learning communities. The majority of rooms are doubles, with some singles available for RA’s and mentors. Six apartments bring hall directors and graduate students to work together with the Learning Communities in residence. The building offers a large event suite, including the NextGen Forum and Idea Lab, with dedicated seminar rooms for each Learning Community. These spaces are designed to give Learning Communities opportunities to host special events and programs that expand and enrich exploration of their thematic foci, such as guest speakers, workshops, and social gatherings. A unique feature of Peter J. Werth Residence Tower is its Learning Community Innovation Zone (LCIZ), designed to support individual and group projects and encourage development of practical problemsolving, invention, and teamwork skills. The Makerspace offers state-of-the-art equipment such as 3D printers, a textile station, laser cutter, wood working equipment and tools, Arduino kits, mobile white boards, and much more. It is open for use by all students, creating a gathering place for those residing in other halls across campus.
MA S T ER P LA N ORIGIN S Horsebarn Hill
Peter J. Werth Residence Tower helped culminate and implement a master planning process that identified ways to improve land utilization and extend campus placemaking.
“Unifying the campus districts most focused on the sciences across this shared green corridor will create opportunities for socialization, foster collaboration, and facilitate interdisciplinary research.” - 2014 UConn Master Plan
Its siting emerged from a search for underdeveloped areas. Its form and site design resulted from applying principles of environmental design and urbanism.
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Commencing Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s design studies during master planning allowed the two efforts to refine and reinforce each other.
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Early studies evaluated the site’s potential in relation to planning considerations like pedestrian routes, campus districts, ecological initiatives (right), and program geography (far right), emphasizing residential neighborhoods (highlighted, far right).
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The location beside a planned ecological corridor at the juncture of three important districts, including a growth area for the sciences, offered an extraordinary opportunity to galvanize multiple initiatives with one investment.
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Proposed green corridor from Landscape Master Plan BO
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Studies of campus open spaces and major pedestrian pathways identified the Peter J. Werth Residence Tower site as a promising strategic location for a new residence that could energize underutilized green space and create a new destination node for student life.
Detailed studies of view sheds, solar exposure, and pedestrian circulation quantified key influences for configuring Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s footprint and massing to engage and activate its site.
View sheds in section
Pedestrian Circulation
View sheds
Solar Exposure
T R A NS FO R M I N G CAM PU S Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s master-planinformed design extends campus placemaking by organizing under-utilized outdoor space and uncoordinated buildings into a residential village. It’s footprint and massing form welcoming green spaces, working together with adjacent buildings and courtyards. An armature of pedestrian pathways connects with campus, energizes courtyards, and leads to clear entrances.
Before Interior, common spaces join courtyards to connect indoor and outdoor experiences, while residential floors rise to view campus vistas.
Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s exterior expression evokes science and technology, and harmonizes with adjoining residences. Horizontal arcading expresses the ground-floor community realm while corner towers express residential floor commons above.
After
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“If I had to describe the building in one word it would be “iconic” because it is large, open, and visible from nearly all points on campus.” -Claire Bailey, Sophomore, WiMSE House
When approached from the south (previous page), Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s tower-like stack of corner lounges draws pedestrians from a long distance, leading them through an arrival courtyard and toward the main entrance (far right).
When approached from the north (above), Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s corner towers invite pedestrians to climb the hill and approach the front main entrance to their left, or circulate to the right toward the back of the building where they discover the large, west-facing main courtyard (right).
“Whenever the weather was nice, you could see people hanging out on the courtyard green. Sometimes my roommate and I would go out to that green with some of our other friends to study, or just to chill out.� -Claire Bailey, Sophomore, WiMSE House
HOME AWAY FR OM H OM E “The ache for home lives in all of us. The safe place where we can go as we are and not be questioned.” -Maya Angelou Peter J. Werth Residence Tower embodies the House Model– composed of powerful domestic archetypes like the shared main entrance, shared circulation, social stair, social heart, and room of one’s own–to help young residents feel welcome and at home while beginning independent lives away from home and family. Configuring circulation pathways and a social heart as places to see and be seen unselfconsciously, where one may choose freely among observing, joining, and passing by, encourages interaction, bringing residents into contact with new people and ideas. Dividing the large residence into “houses” by floor, and further articulating floors into smaller neighborhoods by bending them. Social hubs at these bends offer lounges and access to daylight and views. It also creates the Learning Communities’ geography. Distributing small nooks and alcoves along the pathways, where people can meet spontaneously in small numbers or sit alone to read, wait, or simply people-watch, finishes the process of relating a very large residence to individual human scale.
The House Model
Together, these strategies help residents to feel comfortable and develop the confidence to take the risks, make the commitments, and build the relationships required for personal growth at the heart of the educational process.
Social Stair Resident Apartment
Circulation Stairs/Elevators Gathering Spaces Residential Spaces Bathrooms
Resident Apartments
Support Spaces
Expanded Agriculture
Shared Pathway Social Stair
Shared Main Entry Res Life Offices
GroundFloor: Community Realm
Learning Community Offices
“What should young people do with their lives today? Many things, obviously. But the most daring thing is to create stable communities in which the terrible disease of loneliness can be cured.� -Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
Building Community Connecting front and courtyardside main entrances, an inviting lobby and circulation armature leads residents past openings and glass areas that reveal a variety of social spaces where they can meet friends, encounter new people and new activities, await each other, or simply people-watch.
Social Hub Social Stair
Circulation Stairs/Elevators Gathering Spaces Residential Spaces Bathrooms Support Spaces
Early Program Diagram Green Roof Social Stair
Social Hub Social Hub
Upper Floors: Residential Neighborhoods
The heart of each Learning Community, Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s large corner floor lounges act as house sun porches providing colorful gathering places with generous daylight and exciting campus views for study, house events, and informal hanging out together.
COLLAB O R ATI O N & IN N OVAT ION
“Play is the highest form of research.” -Albert Einstein A suite of non-residential spaces gives Peter J. Werth Residence Tower it’s social heart and enables residents to invent the future. Here, welcoming and inspiring spaces gather a community and encourage its collaboration and innovation through recreational and creative activities. Their transparent partitions reveal activities to passersby and invite observation and involvement. Throughout the building, flexible furnishings, state-of-the-art technology, and plentiful tackable and writeable walls cater to Millenials’ unconventional, spontaneous use of space and time, encouraging them to touch down everywhere and anytime to collaborate and innovate freely and creatively. State-of-the-art technology plays a supporting role, with wired and wireless, fixed and portable systems, subservient to placemaking for welcoming and inspiring community and incubating its discoveries. Even in the technology-intensive makerspace, with its 3D printer and other state-of-the-art equipment, a studio-style environment encourages outside-the-box uses and creative applications.
Learning Communities brainstorming in their seminar rooms
Collaborating in physical problem solving
Competitions among Learning Communities
Creative projects in the Makerspace
"Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than the one where they sprang up." - Oliver Wendell Holmes Makerspace (below) with overlook from seminar zone
Seminar Room
Open social stair Seminar Room
Seminar Room
Seminar Room Event Space Learning Community Offices
Social/Innovation Zone: Ground Floor
Multi-table event space
Recreational spaces
Makerspace from Seminar zone overlook
“The hand is the cutting edge of the mind.” -Jacob Bronowsky
Makerspace Seminar Room
Lounge
Seminar Room
Seminar Room
Seminar Room
Social/Innovation Zone: Lower Floor
L E A R NING FROM LIVING TOGETHER “We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools.” -Martin Luther King Jr. Residence, the committed gathering of a community of scholars to live and learn together – to learn from each other, even to learn from living together itself – offers a unique opportunity to grow through meeting and interacting with new people and ideas. In the era of online education and global connectivity, Residential Education continues to enable depth in intellectual and emotional interaction not possible through digital communication alone. The student residence is the place on campus where this effect occurs most powerfully. The living-and-learning model is its richest form. Here, conversations extend learning beyond the classroom to all places and all hours... incubating new ideas and new friendships that can extend these conversations for a lifetime. Peter J. Werth Residence Tower takes these principles to another level of intensity with its Learning Communities, encouraging student residents to merge living and learning, to mature academically and socially, drawn together by sharing exploration of thematic foci.
Human-scaled nooks and seating for collaborating and socializing
UConn’s decision to locate the offices of the entire Learning Communities program at Peter J. Werth enhances program offerings here, and allows staff to observe and assess them as a basis for driving program innovation across campus.
Eight Learning Communities
The eight houses listed below offer students a range of themes to focus integrated, authentic learning in and out of the classroom. The building’s Innovation Zone brings these communities together with members of other communities from around campus.
Learning Community sessions in their dedicated Seminar Rooms
“Because we are an all-female learning community, supporting women’s achievements in STEM was a big theme. The WiMSE club provides learning opportunities and events such as the annual banquet and guest speakers about life as women in STEM.” -Claire Bailey, Sophomore, WiMSE House
Learning Community members exchanging ideas outside of class time, enabled by corner lounges at the heart of each House.
MAK I NG R ES I D EN T IAL EDUC ATI O N S USTAIN ABL E “The green features at Peter J. Werth Residence Tower separate it from other residence halls because they show initiative. The university is investing in renewable, sustainable, and efficient practices, which is great for our environment.” – Cassidy Cooley, Sophomore, Management and Engineering for Manufacturing
Peter J. Werth Residence Tower embodies a variety of design, construction, and operational strategies to “advance the sustainability of the campus” as called for in the 2014 Master Plan. The synopses on the following pages present a selection of these strategies to illustrate how they reinforce each other in reducing resource consumption and creating an environment that inspires residents to pursue sustainable educations and lives. These strategies work together at Peter J. Werth with its socialdesign strategies to help the university make Residential Education itself more sustainable for the future.
Components of sustainability
SUSTAINABLE STRATEGIES
Hi-efficiency heating/ cooling/lighting, Energy Star appliances, energy dashboards ENERGY
Thermal and photo-voltaic collector panels SOLAR
Healthy-environment and sustainably produced materials, daylight and views, individual room controls
I N TER I O R
Hi-performance envelope, solar shading, vegetated/light-colored roofs EX TER I O R
WAT E R
Low-flow/dual-flush fixtures, no irrigation, gray-water system for flushing toilets and supplying cooling towers
Recycled content, local materials, construction waste recycling M AT E RIAL S
Gray-water use, ‘green’ cleaning, educational programming INNOVATION
SIT E
Courtyards created by footprint of building, storm-water retention, native planting without irrigation, no on-site parking, limited/lightcolored paving
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SUSTAINABLE SITE
WATER CONSUMPTION
A mix of strategies preserve site perviousness, reduce heat-island effects and light pollution, and promote alternative transportation use while strengthening a sense of place on campus.
A combination of basic and innovative strategies minimize water consumption.
Selected Strategies • Proximity to alternative transportation • Building footprint shaped to form sun filled courtyards and maximize opportunities for room daylight access • No on-site parking (parking by campus plan) • Vegetated site area exceeds built footprint • Light-colored or vegetative roofing (1,590 sf of green roof) • Light-colored pavement surfaces • Minimized site lighting • Storm-water retention with bio-filtration • Native and low-maintenance landscaping requiring no irrigation • Provision for future agricultural test garden in courtyard
Selected Strategies • • • •
Low-flow plumbing fixtures Dual-flush toilets No irrigation (native and low-maintenance planting) Connected to campus gray-water system (supplies toilets and cooling-tower sumps)
Performance • Water use projected at 39% below regulatory baseline and 50% below LEED baseline • Gray-water use projected to save 19,000 gallons per day
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ENERGY CONSUMPTION A variety of strategies minimizes energy consumption, making Peter J. Werth an educational resource for residents and others.
Selected Strategies • Highly insulated and sealed envelope with air/vapor barrier (thermally scanned during construction to eliminate heat leaks and water-spray tested to eliminate air leaks) • High-performance windows/glazing with solar shading devices at critical areas • Solar thermal collection to preheat domestic hot water • Solar photo-voltaic collection • Energy Star appliances • High-efficiency modular boilers and domestic-hot-water heaters • Heating-system designed for lower-temperature operation to keep boilers in high-efficiency condensing mode • Water-cooled centrifugal chillers with indoor cooling-tower sumps (supplied by gray-water system) for fast swing-season water availability
• Terminal convection-based valence units (no motors) • Contact sensors disable cooling when windows are open, send alarm if open in cold season • Energy-recovery wheels on exhaust air systems • LED lighting • Dashboard displays for resident and university monitoring • UConn purchasing green power credits
Performance • Overall energy use projected at 29% below LEED/regulatory baseline • Solar thermal collection projected to provide 30% of domestic hot water needs (2,850 gallons per day) and 1.5% energy-cost savings
MAT E R IAL S
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INNOVATION
RESOURCE CONSUMPTION
INNOVATION
Recycling and recycled materials played key roles in constructing a sustainable Peter J. Werth Residence Tower.
Innovative strategies contributed to a sustainable Werth Tower during design and construction, as well as in operation into the future.
Selected Strategies • • • •
Building and site materials with high-recycled content Renewable and sustainably produced materials Materials manufactured/obtained within 500 miles of site Construction waste recycling program
Performance • 20% recycled content in building materials • 97% (747 tons) of construction waste recycled
Selected Strategies • • • •
Gray water for toilet flushing and cooling-tower water LEED AP on staff throughout project delivery UConn green-cleaning policy UConn educational programs for residents about the building’s sustainable strategies, operation, and maintenance
M ATER IAL S
INT E RI OR
LEED G O LD
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
BENCHMARKING
Thoughtful material selection and distribution of user controls lead to a healthy, educational interior environment where residents consume energy responsibly and learn to practice environmental stewardship.
The project team documented and submitted Peter J. Werth Residence Tower’s design and construction to USGBC for formal assessment, anticipating 62 points and a LEED Gold Certification.
Selected Strategies • Low-VOC, urea-formaldehyde-free, lead-free, and cadmiumfree materials (many Floor Score and Green Label Plus) • Sustainably produced finish materials • CO2-sensor ventilation controls • Smoke-free environment • Pre-occupancy flush-out • MERV 13 HVAC filtration • Individual thermal and lighting controls • High percentage daylight and view access
PROJ EC T D E LI V E RY “Newman served as the University’s eyes and ears through the design-build procurement process, during development of the design-build team’s construction documents, and through the construction and closeout period. Their team’s expertise and their diligence ensured that the product the University received through the design-build process met our expectations for architectural quality, durability, sustainability and building performance”
On-time/on-budget delivery of this ambitious project would have been impossible without Building Information Modeling (BIM)-based, all-digital Design-Build (D-B) delivery and extraordinary teamwork.
- Laura Cruickshank, FAIA, Master Planner and Chief Architect AVP for University Planning, Design and Construction University of Connecticut
Project Challenges
Team Responses
The schedule allowed only 3 months for the bridging team to design and obtain critical site-utility and flood-management permits, and only 22 months for the D-B team to finish construction documents and construction, with a deadline to open in the fall of 2016.
Newman Architects earned the confidence of project constituencies early with their team-building and communication skills, helping the university articulate objectives and build consensus. In the role of bridging architect, they employed cycles of SketchUp and Revit modeling to advance design and documentation rapidly and fluidly, a process that demanded multi-platform fluency from the entire A/E team.
The program was still evolving, with Residential Life and Learning Communities organizations still refining their roles and priorities during the design development phase. The site’s adjoining buildings and playing fields limited buildable area for fitting the large program onto a hill side, a constraint compounded by late emergence of survey inaccuracies.
The D-B team developed construction documents from the bridging BIM model, coordinating, procuring, and administering construction digitally. Their openness to Newman leadership, free information sharing, and vigorous problem-solving participation greatly expedited project delivery.
Digital design and coordination
Fast-tracked construction
Celebrating Next Generation Connecticut’s first completion
Welcoming first learning community residents
DESIGN & DOCUMENTATION
Digital
Constructed
Constructing the virtual building in cloud-based BIM, and sharing it freely among team members, greatly expedited project delivery. During design, the ability to define and measure concepts precisely (below right), and visualize potential outcomes vividly (above), enabled well-informed decision making by the university. At bidding time, the BIM model joined conventional bridging documents to facilitate competitive D-B proposals. Following D-B team selection, the ability to acquire and work directly from the bridging BIM jump started the D-B process. Instant team access to the cloud-based model facilitated collaboration and innovation.
View of BIM model as part of bridging and bid documents
COORDINATION The ability to configure systems and eliminate their conflicts ahead of time, and to engage the entire team in cloud-based, collaborative problem solving, saved immeasurable project time.
Clash-free configurations turned out in construction (below) just as modeled (above).
The arch model indivates the slab at an elevation that is lower than the offset will allow. The only other option we can suggest is to remove the offset and move the stacked duct over to eliminate offset. The stacked mains do not have sufficient space between sub-basement floor and structure to accomodate teh 3” minimum between ducts.
Will eliminate offset and 2’ separation between stacks. Change Cabaret SA & RA from 32x32 to 32x28. Change Cafe SA from 28x18 to 28x16. Rated wall will be shifted and reconfigured to shift FD so access to FD can be achieved. Please note out of airstream type B FD are intended to be specified and space neeeds to be accounted for.
Clash report from NavisWorks’ automated digital clash-detection process, complete with problem identification and visualization, and suggested resolution options
WEATHER CONDITIONS: PRESENT AT SITE:
Clear, high 40s Jose A Hernandez Sal Emanuele
IMPLEMENTATION
Drywall is installed, taped and floated. Cooridor walls are primed
Rm C2D; Corridor
Door frames are primed and painted Drywall is installed, taped and floated. Cooridor walls are primed
Throughout procurement, fabrication, and construction in the field, instant access to digital information saved critical time formerly lost to the printing and sending of paper documents back and forth prior to BIM. The ability to engage any or all team members greatly enhanced collaboration and tapped the power of problem-solving resources.
Door frames are primed and painted
Rm C2B; Corridor
Reviewing shop drawings (models) in 3D Reporting construction observation with multiple media Architect’s Field Observations Report PROJECT NAME: PROJECT #: DATE: ISSUED BY:
REPORT #: DATE OF OBSERVATIONS: TIME OF OBSERVATIONS: ect’s Field Observations Report WEATHER CONDITIONS: PRESENT AT SITE: CT NAME: STEM Residence Hall CT #: 20140025/ UConn# 901805 February 7, 2016 BY: José A Hernández, AIA
T #: OF OBSERVATIONS: F OBSERVATIONS: HER CONDITIONS: NT AT SITE:
Rm C2D; Corridor
Rm C2B; Corridor
5/8" Cement Board Substrate as per wall type S4.T2.R1.A
STEM Residence Hall 20140025/ UConn# 901805 February 7, 2016 José A Hernández, AIA
5/8" Cement Board Substrate as per wall type S4.T2.R1.A
FR – 01 8
February 2, 2016 10:00pm – 11:30pm Clear, high 40s Jose A Hernandez Sal Emanuele Rm C2D; Corridor
FR – 01 8
February 2, 2016 10:00pm – 11:30pm Clear, high 40s Jose A Hernandez Sal Emanuele Rm C2D; Corridor
Drywall is installed, taped and floated. Cooridor walls are primed Door frames are primed and painted
Rm
Distributing and reading construction documents and the cloud-based BIM model from the construction site, sharing live views of problems needing team resolution, and recording field decisions and changes, all in digital form transmitted at the speed of light
CONCLUSIONS Reflecting after the first year of use yields some lessons learned for others contemplating similar projects at their institutions.
Dynamic Living Environments The planning and design strategies used in shaping Peter J. Werth enable it to foster vibrant living-and-learning communities as hoped, with residents responding positively. University Learning Communities staff gathered data and plan new programs to take full advantage of its capabilities. Peter J. Werth’s environment helps students adjust to college life and transition to community-style living, fostering academic success, innovation, and community. It supports students’ personal, interpersonal, and intellectual growth through participation in Living-Learning Communities.
Process Recommendations A working environment of open communication and collaboration promotes trust and consensus, highly effective in overcoming challenges and realizing opportunities. When “time is of the essence” on higher-ed residential projects, the D-B approach can provide tight schedule control. Creating opportunities for continued University involvement throughout this process requires a project team with great experience in this delivery model that can provide greater-than-usual design flexibility and quality. On projects with less demanding deadlines than Peter J. Werth’s, institutions can also consider two other project-delivery methods: Public-Private Partnerships (P3), and Design-Bid-Build (DBB) supported by a Construction Manager. • P3 delivery can expand opportunities for effective project management (as well as later operational management) by experienced residential developer/operators, and also engage external financial resources. • DBB delivery with an experienced CM can expand working project time under control, and maximize an institution’s opportunities for participating in design decision-making.
“I would recommend Peter J. Werth as a place for other students to live because of its spacious rooms, wonderful views, large community spaces, fantastic laundry, and the makerspace.� -Claire Bailey, Sophomore, WiMSE House
INITIAL FEEDBACK
“Newman Architects’ service to UConn as the bridging architect for the Werth Tower project set the stage for the project’s successful implementation under a separate design-build contract. They very effectively established criteria - for building design and performance, for site development, and for sustainability - that encapsulated our institution’s vision for the project. ln addition to the knowledge Newman Architects brings to the table, they are excellent listeners and superb facilitators. ln a very compressed time frame, they brought all university stakeholders to the table, guiding our constituents in developing a consensus around project priorities. They worked with us to develop the building program with an attention to nuance that ensured our collective intentions were carried through into the design-build process, and that our completed, award-winning new residence hall supports our institution’s mission and vision. As part of their services to UConn for the project, Newman served as the University’s eyes and ears through the design-build procurement process, during development of the design-build team’s construction documents, and through the construction and closeout period. Their team’s expertise and their diligence ensured that the product the University received through the design-build process met our expectations for architectural quality, durability, sustainability and building performance, and that our programmatic intentions were carried through into the completed and occupied project. After only three and a half months of program verification and bridging documents development, and after only twenty months of construction, we have a new living-learning residence hall which exceeds our expectations for the project, and achieves the vision that we set forth for this first new project to be completed under the State of Connecticut’s Next Generation Connecticut initiative for UConn.”
Laura Cruickshank, FAIA Master Planner and Chief Architect AVP for University Planning, Design and Construction University of Connecticut
“Working with the professionals from Newman Architects was a pleasant experience, which resulted in a building that is the pride of our campus. Newman staff were as committed as the University staff to doing the right thing from start to finish. Their attention to detail was exemplary and their persistence in making sure that the contractors completed all the work to the exact specifications in the bridging documents was remarkable…I developed a very trusting relationship with Newman Architects; and I strongly recommend their team to work with other institutions. This group understands student housing, philosophically, and practically.” Pamela D. Schipani Executive Director of Residential Life University of Connecticut “Representatives from Newman Architects have been accessible to this day. Their ability to shape what we dreamed into an incredible showpiece that serves our programs and our students well, and their tireless advocacy to ensure we received what we asked for are top reasons we would not hesitate to work with them again. Attending weekly building meetings for months, I observed Newman keep the project on task, manage all project details flawlessly, reach out when clarification was needed, address and resolve issues immediately, and they were always pleasant and enjoyable to interact with. As I write this letter at the end of a busy day preparing for thousands of people to visit this building for our Admitted Student Open House Learning Community Showcase we will host tomorrow with 130 faculty, staff, and student volunteers, I have nothing but praise as I recall all we accomplished alongside Newman Architects.” Melissa D. Foreman Assistant Director, First Year Programs & Learning Communities Director, Learning Communities University of Connecticut
Peter J Werth Residence Tower Team
University of Connecticut Brian Schremser Residence Hall Director Robin Bogen Residence Hall Director Department of Student Affairs Michael Gilbert Vice President for Student Affairs Pamela Schipani Executive Director of Residential Life Elsie Gonzalez Director of Diversity and Inclusion Programming Initiatives Brian Schremser Robin Bogen Department of Academic Affairs Sally Reis Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
David Ouimette Director, FYP&LC First Year Programs & Learning Communities Melissa Foreman Assistant Director, FYP&LC First Year Programs & Learning Communities University Planning, Design & Construction Laura Cruickshank AVP, University Master Planner and Chief Architect Sean Vasington Associate Director of Landscape Architecture Ian Dann University Landscape Architect Robert Corbett
Director of Regional Projects and Development John Robitaille Senior Project Manager
Philip R. Sherman, PE
Bridging Team
Design-Build Team
Architect Newman Architects PC
Construction Manager KBE Building Corp.
MEP/FP, Structural, Civil Engineer, Commissioning BHV Integrated Services Inc.
Architect JSA, Inc.
Landscape Architect Towers Golde LLC Sustainable Design, Lighting Atelier Ten USA LLC Exterior Envelope Leavitt Associates Inc. Code
MEP/FP Engineer, Lighting WSP USA Structural Engineer DiBlasi Associates PC Civil Engineer, Landscape Architect BL Companies Sustainable Design Doo Consulting LLC
Book Design Team Photography Robert Benson Photography Peter Newman Nicholas Vittorio KBE Building Corp. University of Connecticut Defining Studios Drawings Newman Architects PC Skidmore, Owings & Merrill LLP (UConn 2014 Master Plan)
Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates Inc. (UConn 2014 Landscape Master Plan)
Text Newman Architects PC Book Design Nicholas Vittorio Newman Architects PC
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