Butler to Remodel Residence Hall Community

  • By Matt Jones
  • 01/19/22

Butler University in Indianapolis, Ind., has announced that it will soon be renovating its Residential College. The residence hall was built in 1988 and serves mainly first-year students. The project is slated to last about two years and cost more than $20 million, according to a news release.

The plans for the renovations were approved in early 2020, right before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Renovations to the interior and exterior of the facility’s residential areas are set to begin in May 2022, with renovations to the dining hall set for summer 2023. The university is partnering with architecture firm Solomon Cordwell Buenz and construction firm Turner Construction.

“Just as we are committed to providing our students with top-tier academics at Butler, we aim to create an excellent out-of-class experience for them, and that includes our residential communities that are home for many Butler students,” said Dr. Frank E. Ross, Vice President for Student Affairs. “Residential College already offers a vibrant community with access to valuable campus amenities, and this renovation will further enhance opportunities for students to live and learn together in a place they are excited to be.”

The renovations will be made to match a small group of 18 rooms that were previously renovated in 2019. Corridors, public restrooms, plumbing and air handling units throughout the entire facility will also see significant upgrades. Plans also include renovations of outdoor environments, including space for recreation and relaxation as well as terrace seating.

The second phase of construction begins in 2023 and will revamp the facility’s dining hall. Work is set to include both aesthetic details like décor, murals and greenery and hard upgrades to the kitchen and back-of-house areas. The university said it expects all renovations to be complete by the end of 2023.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • California High School Starts Construction on STEAM, Music Buildings

    Tamalpais High School, part of the Tamalpais Union High School District, recently broke ground on two new major facilities for its campus in Mill Valley, Calif., according to a news release. The district is partnering with Quattrocchi Kwok Architects (QKA) and Lathrop Construction Associates for the Science Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics (STEAM) and Music Buildings, both replacing their outdated counterparts.

  • K–12 Safety Trends Report Reveals Reliance on Training, Technology

    Wearable safety technology provider CENTEGIX recently released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, according to a news release. The report is based on more than 265,000 incidents during the 2024–25 school year as reported through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, used by more than 800 school districts across the U.S.

  • How One School Reimagined Learning Spaces—and What Others Can Learn

    When Collegedale Academy, a PreK–8 school outside Chattanooga, Tenn., needed a new elementary building, we faced the choice that many school leaders eventually confront: repair an aging facility or reimagine what learning spaces could be. Our historic elementary school held decades of memories for families, including some who had once walked its halls as children themselves. But years of wear and the need for costly repairs made it clear that investing in the old building would only patch the problems rather than solve them.

  • A university

    Breaking Higher Education's Billion-Dollar Backlog Problem

    Strategic mechanical system design can transform campus maintenance backlogs. Here's how.

Digital Edition