Tennessee State University had a strong vision for this dynamic new facility, including a comfortable and safe environment for residents, new academic and dining amenities for the campus, and a new office suite for Residence Life & Housing. Mackey Mitchell Architects worked with the University, the Tennessee Board of Regents, Moody Nolan Architects, and a broad team of talented consultants to fulfill TSU’s vision with strict adherence to schedule and budget. A new social destination for this corner of campus, the 217,000 SF building will include four retail dining venues, a convenience store, Res Life & Housing offices and a 3,200 SF flexible instruction space for academic and social programming. Residential floors will house 700 students in a mix of pod-style units, semi-suites, and student apartments. Four additional apartments will be located on the ground floor, providing housing for eight faculty. Residents will enjoy social lounges, floor kitchens, salons, fitness, and recreation facilities along with academic-oriented quiet rooms, computer lab, and collaboration rooms.
Shape
The first new residence hall in over two decades on TSU’s campus will have impact beyond its immediate site by providing new amenities for the campus at large and establishing an architectural language for future residential development to transform this corner of campus. Nestled between the Performing Arts Center and Eppse Hall, the building mass pinwheels from six stories to four stories befitting its context. The site composition and landscaping shape multiple courtyards, manicured event spaces, and terraces for outdoor dining. The collaborative design process with TSU leadership yielded a building whose expression honors the campus environment in a contemporary way while welcoming future development.
Inspire
Together with the new Health Sciences Building and Alumni Welcome Center the Tennessee State University New Residence Hall sends a clear message of the university’s aspirations. As designers dedicated to creating vibrant student experiences, we quickly found a common language with the university. Giving students first-rate resources and the support needed to make impactful changes in their communities was a driving force behind the decision to emphasize quality at all levels, including thoughtful design, sophisticated materials and finishes, and meticulous construction. Looking beyond the tangible, we envisioned the daily lives of students who will have breakthroughs and create memories in this building.
Passion + Perspective
Through numerous iterations of massing and program distribution we search for the optimal set of relationships in the given context.
Our Critical Success Factor method gets people excited because it gives them an opportunity to voice their opinions and priorities. It also gets us excited because we get to learn what is important to our clients and end users.
Three dimensional visualizations are extensively used throughout our design process.
Coordinating finish palette is a fun phase during which we look to bring home many design points. Here we were inspired by the Tennessee State University royal blue, combining it with patterns and colors that reminded us of nature, energy, and coming together.
This will be a state-of-the-art facility that creates a more dynamic student experience. We are tremendously excited about the progress.
- Frank Stevenson Dean of Students and Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, Tennessee State University
