Student Housing Business is the voice of the student housing industry.
Issue link: https://studenthousingbusiness.epubxp.com/i/783396
ARCHITECTURE January/February 2017 StudentHousingBusiness.com 56 Bartash chooses by way of example the firm's renovation of The Edge Student Village in Philadelphia — ready in fall 2017 — where different nooks and crannies within common areas equally enable social or solitary endeavors. "We saw an opportunity to merge program elements in a way that would encourage a continuous stream of user activ- ity within each of the common spaces," he says. "The large bright green frame establishes a sense of place and activates the atmo- sphere, while the furniture and fixtures are organized so that stu- dents can seamlessly transition between varying levels of engage- ment with the space and with one another." For Cuningham Group, its architectural designs appeal to millennials by providing a unique blend of comfort and luxury ame- nities at a pivotal time in their per- sonal development. Cuningham Group utilizes the firm's expe- rience creating hospitality and entertainment environments. "We call it our hospitality DNA," says Jeff Schoeneck, principal, urban living, with Cuningham Group. "Our student housing is unique- ly connected to this hospitality DNA. College students are at a transitional point in their devel- opment. They're moving from adolescence to adulthood, and we're designing spaces that reflect that and are attractive to them." The 700 on Washington is an urban reuse project built over retail that had previously served as a number of different uses over the years. But one element, Sal- ly's Bar & Grill, was an important piece of the project that had to be retained while the building was being redesigned as student hous- ing. Sally's is something of a local treasure, visited by students for many years, particularly around sporting events at the University of Minnesota. Cuningham Group retained Sally's as well as some additional retail and designed the housing to be reminiscent of an urban hotel with a large, welcoming entrance and the atypical placement of a common area on the top floor of the building, with direct views of the TCF Bank football stadi- um. Sally's adds an air of excite- ment and activity, reflected in the design of the first-level common Humphreys & Partners designed The Foundry in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which is less than a half-mile from the University of Michigan campus. The 14-story, 570-bed project exemplifies the qualities most valued by owners and students: vertical, close to campus and luxuriously amenitized. Image courtesy of Jason Keen