SCB Student Housing

DESIGNING FOR STUDENT SUCCESS

Student Housing

Francis Hall

About SCB

SCB is an architecture, planning, interior and urban design firm. Founded in Chicago in 1931, SCB provides design services from four locations across the US.

SCB is at the forefront of dense urban iving, innovative workplaces, inspiring learning environments, resilient infrastructure, and vibrant communities. Through the collective impact of nearly a century of work, the firm has made an indelible mark on the contemporary landscape.

SCB has designed over 38,000 beds of on-campus student housing. Our portfolio reflects the variety and uniqueness of the institutions we serve and addresses a broad range of needs and building types. From freshman and graduate residences, high-rise and low-rise campus scales, urban and suburban contexts, new facilities and renovated vintage structures - our work offers creative solutions that are tailored to each campus.

Academic and Residential Complex University of Illinois at Chicago

Client: American Campus Communities, University of Illinois at Chicago

Location: Chicago, IL

Size: 201,000 SF

The Academic and Residential Complex is a new mixed-use building at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Developed through a Public-Private-Partnership (P3), the building is composed of a 52,000-squarefoot, two-story academic classroom building, and 131,000-square-foot, 10-story undergraduate residence hall. Designed with a “nod to Netsch,” the original architect of the campus, the building’s façade and interiors echo the geometric movement expressed in Netsch’s “field theory” and distinctive architecture.

AS CAMPUSES LOOK TO COMBINE PHYSICAL AND CAPITAL RESOURCES, MIXEDUSE BUILDINGS LIKE THE ARC DEMONSTRATE THE OPPORTUNITIES CREATED BY MERGING DISPARATE PROGRAMS INTO ONE FACILITY.

The academic classroom building has large tiered collaborative classrooms arranged in a turn-to-team configuration, two 72-seat active learning classrooms, and two 32-seat flexible classrooms. Break-out spaces are provided throughout the building to encourage collaboration amongst students and help foster faculty-student interactions.

Sustainability was a key design driver from the start of the project. The building is sited in response to optimal solar orientation to mitigate heat gain. Extensive daylight studies with regard to the classrooms helped inform the design of folded aluminum fins along the exterior of the building to allow for maximum natural light while blocking direct glare. The project is certified LEED Gold.

STUDENT VIEW ANGLES

PROFESSOR VIEW ANGLES

The residential tower includes 554 beds in traditional and semisuite units. Also included are two faculty-in-residence apartments. Shared amenities include study and social lounges on each floor, a fitness center, laundry rooms, and a ground floor Starbucks. The top floor features a sky lounge with commanding views of downtown Chicago, perfect for residential life programming and quiet study.

AWARDS: AIA Education Facility Design Award

American Architecture Award, Schools and Universities Category

Student Housing Business Innovator Awards, Best Architecture/Design; Best Implementation of Mixed-Use or Live-Learn; Best New Development by a College, University or Institution

International Interior Design Association (IIDA) Red Awards, Education Award

AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards, Citation of Merit, Distinguished Building

National Association of Home Builders Multifamily Pillars of the Industry Award, Best On-Campus Student Housing Community

Architizer A+ Awards, Institutional-Higher Education & Research Facilities, Popular Choice Award

Tooker House Arizona State University

Client: American Campus Communities, Arizona State University

Location: Tempe, AZ

Size: 458,000 SF

Tooker House at Arizona State University is a new living/learning community designed to serve freshman engineering students. The seven-story, 458,000-square-foot project includes 1,582 beds for students in semi-suite units, staff apartments, a 525-seat dining hall, a convenience store, numerous dedicated student study and social lounges, and a fitness center. A large maker lab enjoys a prominent and highly visible location on the ground floor of the building, expanding the academic core of the campus and providing residents with space and resources to continue class work and experimental ideas at any time of day. Sliding glass walls allow activities to spill outdoors, where exhibition pedestals enable students to present their work and invite passersby to learn more.

TOOKER HOUSE IS A NEW CAMPUS ANCHOR DESIGNED TO RESPECT THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUPPORT THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE.

AWARDS: SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for a New Building, Honorable Mention

AIA Chicago Design Excellence Awards, Citation of Merit, Distinguished Building

American Architecture Award

Architizer A+ Awards, Popular Choice Award

Architecture Podium International Architecture Awards First Award – Institutional Building (Built)

Global Architecture & Design Awards Honorable Mention – Institutional (Built)

Multifamily Executive (MFE) Awards Project of the Year – Student Housing

National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), Best in American Living, Student Housing Gold Award

Gold Nugget Awards Grand Winner – Best Student or Faculty Housing, On or Off Campus Residential

Student Housing Business Innovator Award –On-Campus: Best Architecture/Design, Best Use of Green & Sustainable Construction or Development

“THIS MIXED-USE

LIVING AND LEARNING FACILITY SETS A NEW STANDARD IN ENGINEERING EDUCATION AND REFLECTS THE BREADTH AND DEPTH OF THE STUDENT EXPERIENCE AT THE LARGEST ENGINEERING SCHOOL IN THE NATION.”

Dean of the Fulton Schools of Engineering Arizona State University

KYLE SQUIRES

Using the vernacular of desert architecture as its point of departure, SCB created a LEED Gold sustainable building appropriate to its context that could endure, and even leverage, the harsh desert climate of Tempe.

The siting, shape, and massing were developed through extensive shading studies on the constrained campus site. The complex’s figure-eight shape positions the two primary building masses in parallel positions facing east-west, which allows the building to “self-shade” interior courtyards and facades. The southern façade incorporates U-shaped visors and an array of perforated vertical louvers designed and positioned according to a sophisticated algorithm, presenting visual interest and ensuring appropriate daylight control unique to each window’s location on the façade.

The massing also facilitates wind movement through the interior, shaded courtyards, and between the building’s masses. Perforated metal panels on the building’s bridges and breezeways promote airflow through those spaces. Rainwater is harvested from the roof and nourishes select landscape zones in bioswales, reducing the reliance on potable water while also reducing the amount of underground piping and vault infrastructure.

SOLAR SHADING Perforated Screen

SOLAR SHADING Sun Shades

David Blackwell Hall University of California, Berkeley

Client: American Campus Communities, University of California, Berkeley

Location: Berkeley, CA

Size: 184,000 SF

David Blackwell Hall is a new residence hall at the University of California Berkeley. Developed through a Public-PrivatePartnership (P3) with American Campus Communities (ACC), the 184,000-squarefoot mixed-use project combines urban planning principles, innovative sustainable systems, and campus design sensibilities to create a unique new addition to both the UCB campus and the South Berkeley community.

The building provides 776 beds of firstyear undergraduate housing organized into a series of pods made up of double occupancy rooms and gender-inclusive bathrooms. Student amenities including an academic success center, fitness center, and entry lounge along with 7,000 square feet of ground floor retail activate Dana and Durant Streets. The building also provides a new home for Stiles Hall, a mission-driven community service organization that has engaged UC Berkeley students for over 125 years.

The project is LEED Gold through a variety of sustainable features and systems focused on reducing energy consumption. Air conditioning is provided only in shared, communal spaces; residential units are served by low velocity, tempered ventilation, which is augmented by operable windows and supplemented by individually controlled electric radiant modules over the windows. Responsive lighting throughout adjusts in brightness according to the amount of natural light infiltrating the building at different points in the day. Blackwell Hall consumes 44% less energy than required by the stringent local code, achieving an energy use intensity of 36 kBtu/square foot. It meets the ambitious energy targets set by the American Institute of Architects’ 2030 Challenge, performing 70% better than similar buildings in the same climate.

BLACKWELL HALL MEETS THE AMBITIOUS ENERGY TARGETS SET BY THE AIA’S 2030 CHALLENGE, PERFORMING 70% BETTER THAN SIMILAR BUILDINGS IN THE SAME CLIMATE.

David Blackwell Hall

Kelly Hall Renovation and Addition

Drexel

University

Client: Drexel University

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Size: 84,000 SF

Kelly Hall is a case study in how a small, strategic addition can revitalize a whole residential community. Originally constructed in 1967, the 11-story residential tower was designed by Baader, Young, & Schultze. The renovation included a full restoration of the masonry façade, replacement of all windows, and upgrades to all building systems.

The original building basement provided space for student amenities but was dark and hidden from view. By taking advantage of the grade change along the site the design team excavated the lower level, opening the space to natural light. A small 4,000 square-foot addition extends the floor plates of the original ground level and lower level and allows for the creation of a new academic success center, which is open to the full campus community.

A fully glazed double height atrium which features a monumental communicating stair, is linked to a new landscaped outdoor plaza. Academic-focused amenities include larger informal collaborative areas, along with small group meeting rooms and individual study spaces.

The original main entrance to the building remains, now becoming a secure point of entry for residents only. The exterior design of the addition works within the material dialogue of Kelly Hall, utilizing regionally sourced stone and taking cues from the implied lines and geometries within the existing building. A screening element serves dual purposes mitigating thermal gain and solar glare, while also helping to prevent bird strike.

THE EXTERIOR DESIGN OF THE ADDITION WORKS WITHIN THE MATERIAL DIALOGUE OF KELLY HALL, TAKING CUES FROM THE IMPLIED LINES AND GEOMETRIES WITHIN THE EXISTING BUILDING.

Inside, minimal alterations were made to the residential floorplans; the 410 beds were maintained as traditional doubleoccupancy rooms, while the existing shared community bathrooms were updated to offer private shower and toilet stalls. The residential floors are linked through a series of central, twostory social lounges. Here, the design team took the opportunity to celebrate these communal spaces by replacing the masonry façade with a glass curtainwall, as well as opening visual access to the lounges from the interior through the use of glazing, allowing daylight into the primary circulation path on each floor.

Kelly Hall Renovation and Addition

Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Commons

University of California, Riverside

Client: University of California, Riverside

Location: Riverside, CA

Size: Housing: 176,000 SF; Dining: 52,000 SF

Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Commons are the first of several large-scale projects adding residential capacity and transforming the campus experience at UC Riverside. Located adjacent to the campus’ original residence halls, Aberdeen-Inverness (A&I), the 820bed Dundee Residence Hall complements the geometry of A&I, utilizing two sevenstory buildings to form a shared outdoor courtyard. The courtyard serves as the “living room” of the community, offering a variety of recreational and social, as well as contemplative spaces, amidst a landscape of native plantings.

THE BUILDINGS ARE CAREFULLY SITED WITH RESPECT TO NATURAL SIGHTLINES AND CAMPUS CONNECTIONS.

The buildings are carefully sited with respect to natural sightlines and campus connections, with upper floor student lounges strategically positioned as “lanterns” to the community. Ground floor amenities focused on living and learning include three seminar classrooms, a large multi-purpose room, as well as more social spaces such as a large resident lounge with a stage, music practice studios, and a recreation and gaming lounge, to name a few. Dundee Residence Hall is LEED Gold.

At the courtyard’s southern reach, a large portal through Dundee South Hall reveals the 800+-seat Glasgow Dining Commons, the residential precinct’s signature building. Sweeping walls of glazed curtain wall are shrouded within a louvered shell, allowing for dramatic views of the surrounding Box Spring Mountains, while mitigating solar gain and glare. The 52,000 square-foot all-youcare-to-eat facility offers six unique food venues, including a central demonstration kitchen and exhibition bakery, as well as a grab-and-go convenience store. An elevated outdoor dining terrace provides additional seating, taking advantage of the campus’ hospitable climate, year-round. Glasgow Commons is LEED Silver.

Dundee Residence Hall and Glasgow Dining Commons

Fairview House and Irvington House Butler University

Client: American Campus Communities, Butler University

Location: Indianapolis, IN

Size: Fairview House: 210,000 SF; Irvington House: 183,000 SF

After completing a residential master plan for the University, SCB was engaged to design two new residential buildings on Butler’s campus. Both projects were developed through a public-private partnership with American Campus Communities (ACC).

The 633-bed residence hall is organized into a series of smaller, six to eight student pod-style communities. Several new unit plans were created for the project, including a two-story, three-bedroom apartment with an open concept living room and kitchen. The residence hall fosters community-building by offering a variety of spaces that promote interaction. With its social and study lounges, shared laundry facilities, and a fitness studio, the building’s design encourages students to move throughout the building, allowing for encounters with other residents. Two faculty-in-residence units offer students deep mentorship networks and provide possibilities for continued learning beyond classroom walls. The building is LEED Gold.

Located at the main entrance to campus, Fairview House, is positioned along Sunset Avenue, straddling the border between campus and the surrounding neighborhood. To incorporate the building into the broader community, the design team worked extensively with neighborhood residents and community groups to build consensus and gain support for the proposed project. The resulting design provides a modern response to the University’s traditional, collegiate, and gothic context while respecting its surroundings with thoughtful architectural gestures toward neighboring buildings.

Fairview House and Irvington House

Soon to follow was Irvington House, a first-year residence hall adjacent to the University’s student union, Atherton Hall, which offers 647 beds organized in semi-suites. Shared community amenities include social lounges, group study rooms, a fitness center, communal kitchen, and an indoor bike room. A large, ground floor multi-purpose room supports student organizations, Greek chapters, and other campus programming. Two faculty-inresidence apartments provide residents the opportunity for enhanced academic engagement.

Two large campus-facing courtyards provide two distinct outdoor programs: one more social with a fire pit and ample lounge seating and one designed as a quiet, contemplative space. The siting and massing of the building were developed to optimize solar orientation and mitigate heat gain, as well as maximizing opportunities for daylighting within the building. Irvington House is LEED Gold.

Manzanita Hall Renovation

Arizona State University

Client: American Campus Communities, Arizona State University

Location: Tempe, AZ 211,000 SF

Originally designed in 1967, the 15-story Manzanita Hall was the tallest building in Arizona when it opened. With its unique geometric exterior design the dormitory became an immediate icon on the Arizona State campus. However, after over 40 years of housing more than 40,000 students, the residence hall was in poor condition and no longer served students’ needs. ASU hired SCB to conduct a feasibility study to explore renovation or replacement strategies for the 810bed residence hall. The study revealed that replacement would be a far easier undertaking; however, the University ultimately decided to renovate the building due to its iconic character and the importance of its place in the memories of alumni. ASU retained SCB and Studio Ma to work with American Campus Communities to complete a full renovation of Manzanita Hall.

The new exterior enclosure system was designed to work with the existing structural bracing system expressed on the exterior of the building. By eliminating the existing infill windows and wall panels and setting the new exterior wall behind the structural braces, the design team visually accented the iconic braces, giving the building a more crisp graphic character. This solution also allowed for the new enclosure to run uninterrupted behind the braces and consequently perform at a higher thermal efficiency.

The renovation sought to improve physical and social connections, increase natural light into the building, and integrate technologies for today’s increasingly connected students. The design team found an opportunity to add two-story communal lounges and kitchens within new “found space” by extending the original northwest exterior wall to the L-shaped shear walls and adding floor-to-ceiling glass. The original exterior bracing is now part of the interior, demarcating each lounge’s mezzanine.

Working within the constraints of the existing building, the design team reconfigured the floor plans to accommodate a more efficient layout, consisting of suites of two double-occupancy rooms with a shared bathroom. Significant physical surveying and space planning ensured that the new floor layouts for suites and bathrooms did not interfere with the building’s existing structural elements. The planning of the new plumbing chases faced challenges due to existing post-tension slabs and interior shear walls, which could not be eliminated or encroached upon.

The decision to reuse the building established the University’s commitment to sustainability, which became a priority for the project. The project has achieved LEED Silver.

AWARDS: SCUP/AIA-CAE Excellence in Architecture for Restoration or Preservation - Honor Award

Student Housing Business Innovator Award, On-Campus: Best Renovation of Existing Dorm

AIA Arizona Distinguished Building Honor Award

“THIS WAS A FOREBODING TECHNICAL REDEVELOPMENT OF A STRUCTURE THAT PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DEMOLISHED. EVERYONE ON THE PLANNING TEAM WAS PETRIFIED OF THE RISKS AND UNFORESEEN ASSOCIATED WITH THE BUILDING.

THE SCB TEAM WAS CREATIVE, PIONEERING AND THOROUGH, AND LED AN AMAZING PROJECT TEAM. THE PROJECT WAS DELIVERED ON TIME, UNDER BUDGET AND 100 PERCENT LEASED.”

JASON WILLS

Campus Communities

Francis Hall

Loyola University Chicago

Client: Loyola University Chicago

Location: Chicago, IL

Size: 133,000 SF

SCB continues its long partnership with Loyola University with the completion of Francis Hall, a new undergraduate residence hall located within the campus’ south residential district. The seven-story brick building is set back from Winthrop Avenue and features a curved glass façade that embraces a new plaza and public green space.

The ground floor is separated into three distinct program zones; a café and lounge space open to all Loyola students; a new suite for the University’s Honors College, which includes faculty offices and a seminar room; and a large community kitchen, lounge, and multipurpose room for residents located beyond the main desk and secure point of entry for the residence hall. Floor-to-ceiling glass throughout the ground floor visually connects the indoors to the outdoors, while a large vertical operable glass door opens to seamlessly connect the two spaces and allow fresh air to flood the space in warmer months.

The 133,000-square-foot, 406-bed residence hall is comprised of double-occupancy, semi-suite units. Elevators open directly into each floor’s bright and daylit central shared social lounge and kitchen located in the glass curvature of the building. Placing these “living rooms” at the building’s most trafficked circulation point helps to build community amongst student residents. Quieter study-focused lounges are located at the northeast corner of each floor, providing views toward the academic core of campus and Lake Michigan. Francis Hall is LEED Gold.

North District Phase Two University of California, Riverside

Client: University of California, Riverside

Location: Riverside, CA

Size: 417,000 SF

Phase Two of The North District represents a unique collaboration between the University of California, Riverside (UCR) and the Riverside Community College District (RCCD) to create a joint intersegmental student residential community located on the UCR campus. Funded in part through the Higher Education Student Housing Grant Program established in the state’s senate bill (SB) 169, a portion of the project’s units are designated as affordable, offering low-cost housing for students enrolled in either institution. In addition, the project provides RCCD students with a campus residential experience and courses of study geared toward the UC/CSU transfer portals while providing UCR students a more diverse social and academic community.

The 1,568-bed community is located within the North District, a 50-acre living/learning district on the UCR campus. Building off the success of Phase One, which was also designed by SCB, Phase Two serves as a new gateway presence at the north end of campus. The buildings evoke the mid-century architectural tradition of UCR through monumental loggias and the use of exposed concrete and Normanbond brick. The design for the all-electric, five-and-seven story buildings combines climatic responsiveness and passive solar mitigation strategies along with the building program to create an integrated, indoor/ outdoor residential experience. The project is targeting LEED Gold.

An activated ground floor provides student residents with a variety of amenities and administrative services including social and recreation spaces, a fitness center, a grab and go café, centralized laundry facilities, and academic-focused spaces for both group and individual study. Many of the spaces connect seamlessly to two, large, terraced courtyards that serve as tranquil respites and hubs of social interaction for residents.

“THE JOINT UCR/RCCD INTERSEGMENTAL HOUSING PROJECT IS A HOLISTIC AND INNOVATIVE APPROACH DESIGNED TO BREAK DOWN CULTURAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BARRIERS SURROUNDING ACCESS, SUCCESS, AND EQUITY BY IMMERSING FIRST-GENERATION, LOW-INCOME STUDENTS INTO THE FULL UCR EXPERIENCE.”

WOLDE-AB ISAAC Chancellor, Riverside Community College District

The Summit at University City Drexel University

Client: American Campus Communities, Drexel University

Location: Philadelphia, PA

Size: 585,000 SF

Developed in partnership with Drexel University and American Campus Communities, this 1,315-bed, 24 story tower blends the principles of high-rise design with the unique needs of student residents. SCB drew from the firm’s extensive experience in the high-rise residential market to design efficient floor plans that maximize views to the city and campus and incorporate a variety of 2-4 bedroom apartment and suite style units. The building responds to the character of the adjacent Powelton Village neighborhood with a low-rise retail storefront base that enhances the pedestrian experience on Lancaster Avenue, while rising to a tower in relation to the higher density University City towards campus.

The design team sought to activate the ground level of the building, emphasizing community spaces including a lobby lounge connected to a Starbucks, recreation and fitness center, theatre, cyber lounge, group study rooms, and business and mail center.

AWARDS: NAHB Multifamily Pillars of the Industry – Best Student Housing Rental Apartment Community

Urban Land Institute Philadelphia – Willard G. “Bill” Rouse III Award for Excellence

As an addition to both the university campus and the greater University City neighborhood, ACC and Drexel recognized that the building should provide amenities to students and members of the broader community alike. To address that need, the building offers Urban Eatery, a full service dining facility that is open to the public. Urban Eatery features a variety of dining options including numerous themed eateries and a late night grab and go café. With the iconic dining pavilion and an engaging entry plaza, The Summit is a new hub of student life within University City.

The Summit

Studebaker East Renovation

Ball State University

Client: Ball State University

Location: Muncie, IN

Size: 74,000 SF

At Ball State University, the enclosure of Studebaker Hall, designed by the firm of Walter Scholer & Associates in 1965, was failing and needed replacement. Yet the building remained structurally sound. The overall organization of the building created essentially two separate vertical housing sections, with access through two separate entrances: one with access to floors 1-5 and the other providing elevators to floors 6 and above. The university engaged SCB, along with Schmidt Associates as architect of record, for a full renovation.

Through the study of circulation patterns and view corridors the design team determined that the primary focus of activity was at the southwest corner of the building. The existing community bathrooms located at this primary location were demolished and relocated to make way for a new, stacked, 2-story lounge addition and main point of entrance. By using the existing building’s form and material vocabulary, the addition seamlessly connected to the original structure and overall campus design. The new entry was raised above grade to allow for a green plaza and landscaped terraces.

At the ground level, the team added a 2-story multipurpose room to serve as the students’ main community destination in the building. Above, a series of 2-story communal lounges, with alternating kitchen spaces on odd floors, enhanced social connectivity between floors.

The residence floors maintained the existing room layout with a central corridor to each wing. The renovation incorporated a radiant heating and cooling valance system into the student rooms as a noninvasive way of integrating low-energy environmental systems, and contributed to the building achieving a LEED Gold rating. Moveable and stackable furniture allows flexibility for students to personalize their room to suit their needs.