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

  • St. Lucie County, Fla., Breaks Ground on New K–8 School

    St. Lucie Public Schools in St. Lucie County, Fla., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new K–8 school, according to a news release. The district partnered with Spiezle Architectural Group, Inc., for the design of the upcoming Ft. Pierce K–8 School, which comprises six buildings covering 215,000 square feet.

  • University of Rochester to Break Ground on New Student Life Center

    The University of Rochester in Rochester, N.Y., recently began construction on a new Student Life building, according to a news release. The first floor will contain campus-wide gathering, program, and rehearsal space; the second floor will play home to the Greenbaum Center for Jewish Life.

  • Montclair State University Debuts New VR Facility

    Montclair State University in Montclair, N.J., recently announced the completion of a new virtual reality learning facility developed in partnership with Dreamscape Learn, according to a news release. The 2,450-square-foot lab space is inside the College of Communication and Media building and will serve students pursuing careers in digital media, virtual reality, and content creation.

  • CSU Starts Construction on New Engineering Building

    Colorado State University in Denver, Colo., recently began clearing space for the construction of the new Don and Susie Law Engineering Future Technologies Building, according to a news release.