-By Sue Kerns, IIDA

Gone are the days of a cracker box for a college dorm room. Students today, and their parents, are savvy and more demanding about living environments and factor living accommodations high in their ranking process for school selection. Colleges and universities are wise to offer students a variety of living choices and amenities as a way to both attract new students and then retain them as upper classmen.

Forward-thinking schools are offering spacious living facilities that feel more like living at home than ever before. Examples include shared open living spaces, TV rooms, resident kitchens, private or semi-private bathrooms, large closets, movable furniture that allows the space to be individualized, and a variety of room sizes and layouts including single and multiple-bedroom units. This offers students the benefits of having private personal space and shared communal space that helps foster community. Resident housing like this competes with the apartments to which many students move after a year or two in the residence halls. For colleges or universities, the longer they retain a student in their resident life housing program, the better the financial gain. Housing plays a larger role in the connection and loyalty a students feels toward their school after they graduate.

At Reed College in Portland, Ore., there was a shortage of residence hall rooms, and interested students competed in a lottery and crossed their fingers for a spot on campus. To address this issue, Reed leadership set a goal of housing 75 percent of students on campus by expanding the college’s housing offerings and adding four, new, highly coveted, resident buildings that are designed to function more like large houses.

A total of 65,000 sq. ft. in resident hall space was added at Reed with the Sitka, Aspen, Bidwell, and Sequoia Houses. Each of the four buildings houses 25 to 35 students each, split between single and divided-double rooms, with its own kitchen, living, dining, laundry, and study areas. A café and a meeting room were included in the project, as well as shared outdoor terrace space. The stairwells in each building are deliberately located away from the entrances, as a means to promote interaction among students. Residents coming to and going from their rooms must pass through common areas, creating opportunities for conversation and socialization.

Many schools are also trying a suite approach to residence life. This provides the connectivity and safety of campus living while at the same time creating housing that supports student independence. Trimble Hall at The University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Wash., is a 58,100-sq.-ft. residence hall made entirely of suites ranging from three to six bedrooms. Each suite is furnished with a bathroom, kitchenette, and common living area, and the hall has a multipurpose living/learning room for large gatherings, classes, and special lectures and a serving kitchen and curricula space in a seminar-room setting. The building also provides a guestroom with its own bath for visitors, a nice feature for residents to share with friends and family who come to visit.

Kaneko Commons at Willamette University in Salem, Ore., is designed to accommodate students throughout their college experience. A freshman can begin in a double room, move up to a suite with a private bathroom, and then live in an apartment with full cooking capabilities. The 151-bed addition to the existing Kaneko Hall, with traditional double-rooms, skyrocketed the residence hall’s standing from the student body’s last choice to its first choice. In fact, the night before it was available, eager students camped out to get the best chance at a room. The residential commons system combining curricular activities with co-curricular education was a design outcome of a task force created to address the fact that students were not experiencing the type of campus life desired.

Integrating academic functions in the residence hall has become more commonplace and goes a long way toward reinforcing bonds with faculty—spaces such as classrooms, performance areas, library and digital learning resources, writing labs, music and art rooms, and even dorm offices for faculty. Faculty and student interaction in student living environments greatly enhances the learning experience.

Another added benefit to new or renovated dorm space is that colleges and universities are integrating green and sustainable features into the building design. This includes operable windows, emphasis on natural light through daylighting, built-in blinds/shutters, energy efficient windows and appliances, green roofs, priority on creating green spaces, low-VOC paints and finishes, bike storage, etc. These sustainable features reduce the building’s footprint, while at the same time making it more livable to the residents. Facilities like this provide visible methods to teach sustainability and help educate future generations about environmental stewardship.

Given the price tag of a higher education, students and their parents are more demanding about their living environments than ever before. Colleges and universities that prioritize student housing as part of their student acquisition and retention strategies stand to benefit.

Sue Kerns is a principal and director of interiors at ZGF Architects in Portland, Ore., www.zgf.com.