Challenge
When the University of Colorado Boulder needed to expand their freshman housing offerings, they looked to the design-build team of KWK Architects (a Lawrence Group company), alm2s, and Whiting-Turner.
Solution
The new seven-story Williams Village East residence hall houses 700 students in 20 communities of 35 beds each. Each community includes a study room and open lounge. The floor plan is articulated with two main vertical communication cores serving two and three communities.
In order to break up the 177,600 SF building’s large scale, the floors drop down from seven to four stories creating a cascade effect. The open first floor includes most of the community spaces, multipurpose rooms, open student kitchen, and open lounge/great room. The transfer slab on the second floor allows for the transition from load bearing walls to the open first floor with columns, creating the necessary flexibility for public spaces. The reception desk is located in the “center of gravity” of the first floor, with clear view of the three main entrances to the building: North, South and East.
There is a very strong relationship between the interior community spaces and the exterior, with open terraces connecting to the lounges. Especially important is the relationship between the 2,000 SF Great Room and the south terrace, all facing the open Village Green.
The $82 million Williams Village East project earned LEED Gold certification under LEED v4.
