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Defining Concepts | Community
No matter how one classifies community – be it by age, interests, geography, areas of study, gender, etc. – the need for increased intentionality in the design of the residential community is clear. Student housing must promote a heightened experience of community life for the student body, faculty, and staff within the residence hall.
Location: Student housing should not be relegated to the periphery of campus. It must return to the core. The building may be large or small, in a busy urban area or on a spacious non-urban campus, laid out vertically or horizontally. But its location should be intertwined with the surrounding non-academic public sphere, delivering to students a model of convenience and access to amenities.
Mixed Use of Space: Mixed use of space for multiple purposes is key. The residence hall itself can include mixed-use space, and the residence hall is situated in the midst of other public and private, commercial, professional, retail, residential, recreational, and governmental land uses. The location is teeming with conveniently accessed amenities including retail shops, dining establishments, libraries, museums and galleries, recreation and entertainment centers, businesses, religious facilities, and transit nodes.
Security: The residence hall is a controlled environment, not fully open to the community. With mixed use buildings as the principle and high densities the rule, maintaining safety and privacy is paramount in the residence hall. Nested zones of authorized access outside and inside the residence hall allow a variety of visitors free access to the appropriate spaces while barring access to other zones such as residential floors and private rooms.
Defining Concepts | Community
No matter how one classifies community – be it by age, interests, geography, areas of study, gender, etc. – the need for increased intentionality in the design of the residential community is clear. Student housing must promote a heightened experience of community life for the student body, faculty, and staff within the residence hall.
Location: Student housing should not be relegated to the periphery of campus. It must return to the core. The building may be large or small, in a busy urban area or on a spacious non-urban campus, laid out vertically or horizontally. But its location should be intertwined with the surrounding non-academic public sphere, delivering to students a model of convenience and access to amenities.
Mixed Use of Space: Mixed use of space for multiple purposes is key. The residence hall itself can include mixed-use space, and the residence hall is situated in the midst of other public and private, commercial, professional, retail, residential, recreational, and governmental land uses. The location is teeming with conveniently accessed amenities including retail shops, dining establishments, libraries, museums and galleries, recreation and entertainment centers, businesses, religious facilities, and transit nodes.
Security: The residence hall is a controlled environment, not fully open to the community. With mixed use buildings as the principle and high densities the rule, maintaining safety and privacy is paramount in the residence hall. Nested zones of authorized access outside and inside the residence hall allow a variety of visitors free access to the appropriate spaces while barring access to other zones such as residential floors and private rooms.



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