Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Westfield State University: University Hall

  • 10/01/14
Westfield State University: University Hall

PHOTOS © ROBERT BENSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Architecture and design firm ADD Inc recently completed the renovation of Westfield State University’s new student residence, University Hall, in Westfield, MA. The construction of University Hall totals 139,000 square feet and adds 411 beds to the campus. The architecture and interior design of the building directly responds to how today’s students live and learn.

“Students today require more collaborative and interactive learning environments, in and out of the classroom,” states B.K. Boley, principal at ADD Inc. “We felt we had to go beyond enhancing the school’s facilities and services by designing ‘memorable’ spaces that truly enrich a student’s college experience and strengthen academic life.”

University Hall features one-, four- and six-bedroom suites, including singles and doubles, each with a shared suite bath, living room and kitchenette.

The surrounding woods and mountains inspired the architecture and interior design of the new building. Designed around the concept of a student’s journey of “walking through the woods toward the light,” ADD Inc created a building shaped like “two trees fallen in the forest” with a large arch that leads from a wooded overlook of Tekoa Mountain back to the campus quad.

Inside, student rooms and corridors extend like branches out to study perches in the tree canopy. Ground floor common areas and meeting rooms feel like the forest floor with wooded ceilings and colorful furnishings that evoke “wildflowers.”

Following this theme, the building’s exterior consists of highly textured red and black brick that resembles bark, while the inside communal courtyard is composed of wood-tone panels. The building’s Grand Arch is an all-glass, floor-to-ceiling five-story archway with open spaces for student lounging and studying.

ADD Inc’s primary objective was to provide diverse units with a variety of common space options that range from a large multipurpose room for university functions to common lounges and kitchens for socializing to intimate light-filled “perch” lounges that are ideal for quiet study and that showcase views of the surrounding woods.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Embry-Riddle Completes Construction on Research, Lab Facility

    Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Fla., recently announced the end of construction on a new research and lab facility on campus. The Center for Aerospace Engineering II (CAT II) will support aerospace research and technology development and broke ground last summer.

  • Dallas ISD Voters Approve $6.2B Bond Package

    Dallas ISD voters have approved a record-setting $6.2-billion bond package that district leaders say will modernize aging campuses, eliminate portable classrooms and reshape learning environments across one of the nation’s largest school systems.

  • UCF Modernizes College of Hospitality Management

    The University of Central Florida in Orlando, Fla., recently completed a major renovation effort for the Rosen College of Hospitality Management, according to a news release. The project modernized 77,600 square feet worth of academic classrooms, teaching labs, and collaborative spaces to support both students and faculty.

  • Rethinking K-12 Schools as a Continuous Learning Experience

    Most students move through three or more separate facilities during their K-12 journey, yet the built environments they encounter at each stage have traditionally been designed in isolation, with little continuity in spatial language, learning philosophy, or physical resources. Each new school is a reset with different layouts, learning models, expectations, and ways of moving through a building. The next generation of school design is making the case that the first day of kindergarten and the last day of high school can and should feel connected through common support systems and infrastructure in the physical environment.