Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

University of Kansas: Oswald and Self Halls + Daisy Hill Commons and Quad

  • 05/01/17
University of Kansas 

PHOTO S © BILL TIMMERMAN

Designed by Treanorhl, Oswald and Self Halls are a combined 197,000-square-foot, 700-bed, $44 million project unified by Daisy Hill Commons and Quad at the University of Kansas campus in Lawrence.

Located within the established Daisy Hill neighborhood of four 1960s-era residence halls, the project included the design and construction of new student housing, community amenities, outdoor spaces and a reconfiguration of the access road and associated parking. Opened in 1965, the nine-story, three-wing McCollum Hall no longer met the programmatic needs of today’s students and was razed to make room for the new residence halls. Resident parking was relocated to the McCollum Hall site.

The project unifies an existing community with two new five-story residence halls, a three-story commons building and a large quad for outdoor recreation and socialization. Building massing was heavily influenced by the site, which had significant changes in elevation and utilities running down its center. The design respects the existing context, and pays close attention to proportions and materiality of the surrounding renovated residence halls.

The state-of-the-art commons building takes advantage of its elevation on top of Daisy Hill to provide students and visitors with sweeping views of the University of Kansas campus. It supports student success with amenities such as: an academic resource center, classrooms, collaboration spaces, recreation spaces, a coffee shop, community kitchen and multi-functional areas for solitude, group study and socialization.

Completed in July 2015, the project has dramatically changed the landscape of Daisy Hill by bringing in a modern feel, a variation on living types, replacing an isolating parking lot with an integrated campus quad and providing academic support amenities to the community.

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Harvard Announces Replacement Facility for Native American Program

    Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass., recently announced that construction will begin this spring on a new home for its Native American Program, according to university news. The 6,500-square-foot, all-electric building will stand three stories and serve as the central hub for the Harvard University Native American Program (HUNAP).

  • UT System Approves First Funds for New Campus

    The University of Texas System Board of Regents recently approved funds to build the first facility of a new campus in far west Fort Worth, Texas, according to university news. UTA West will serve as a branch of the University of Texas at Arlington and is scheduled to open in fall 2028.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Breaks Ground on New Classroom Building

    Kealakehe Elementary School in Kailua, Hawaii, recently began construction on a new, $16-million classroom building for its campus, according to a news release. The 13,000-square-foot building will stand two stories and connect the existing upper and lower campuses.