Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Bucknell University to Build New Residence Halls

  • By Matt Jones
  • 07/21/22

Bucknell University in Lewisburg, Pa., recently announced that it will build four apartment-style residence halls over the next two years. The new housing facilities will replace an existing complex of residential units known as “The Mods,” which are more than 50 years old. A press release reports that each unit will have space for 70 beds for a total capacity of 280 students.

The new residence halls will stand three stories and feature the university’s traditional red-brick exterior. They will feature apartments of various sizes with shared kitchen and bath spaces, and each residence hall will have four student lounge areas and laundry facilities. The new dorms’ design will also include geothermal heating and cooling systems.

“These new, apartment-style residence halls should provide students a substantial upgrade from ‘The Mods,’ which are in need of replacement,” said Fritz Family Dean of Students Amy Badal. “Based on student feedback, we have made a greater commitment to outdoor recreation options for students on campus, and the amenities found at these new student housing units represent a model for what we envision across campus moving forward.”

Bucknell West Residence Hall
Rendering courtesy of Gensler

According to the news release, half of “The Mods” will be demolished after the end of the fall 2022 semester, and the first two residence halls are scheduled to open at the beginning of fall 2023. The other half of the old facility will be replaced with the second pair of new buildings in time for the fall 2024 semester. The university will make alternate on-campus housing arrangements for students displaced by the demolition and construction. They will also feature modular elements that will reportedly shorten the construction schedule by about a year.

The four new buildings will also form the borders of an outdoor recreation area scheduled to feature an amphitheater, fire pit, volleyball court and ping pong tables, grills and additional seating.

About the Author

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

Featured

  • Chartwells Launches Campus Dining Evaluation Framework

    Contract food-service management provider Chartwells Higher Education recently announced the launch of BLUEPRINT, according to a news release. The evaluation framework was designed to provide a data-driven and customizable roadmap towards optimizing campus dining services and, by extension, the student experience.

  • school building with glowing circuit board patterns

    AI Is Coming to Schools — But Most School Buildings Still Run on Institutional Memory

    As school districts race to introduce AI into classrooms, administration, and curriculum planning, another conversation is happening behind the scenes: How prepared are school facilities themselves for the operational demands AI will create?

  • 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.

  • Minnesota District Converts Middle School into Community Hub

    White Bear Lake Area Schools in White Bear Lake, Minn., recently announced the end of a major renovation project that converted a former middle school into a new centralized district and community hub, according to a news release.