After last year’s addition of Weyerhaeuser Hall, construction on campus is no surprise to many Puget Sound students. In fact, construction of the temporarily named “New Residence Hall” will be an active part of the Puget Sound scenery until the fall 2013 semester, a little over a year after groundbreaking in May 2012. Located on the corner of North 13th and Lawrence Streets, the new residence hall was designed by the Seattle firm Bohlin Cywinski Jackson.
The new hall is part of the 20-year Campus Master Plan, which began in 2003 and includes the previous construction of the Weyerhaeuser Center for Health Sciences, Commencement Walk, Harned Hall, Lower Baker Field and improvements of Memorial Fieldhouse, the Alder Street Entrance and Thompson Hall. The Athletics and Aquatics Center project is currently in development.
The hall will house students from Humanities, Outdoors and Environmental Policy and Decision-Making, International and Global Education and Spirituality, Service and Social Justice in 11 “houses.” Each house will consist of nine to 14 single bedrooms situated around a common room and kitchen area.
“One of the main purposes was to attract seniors and juniors to live on campus,” Bob Kief, the head of Facilities Services, said.
Surely, the new hall will do just that, boasting a total of 135 singles, several study and gathering areas, a seminar room and meeting space for 150 people.
“It should be a way for upperclassmen students to stay engaged on campus longer and make stronger connections in communities they’re actually interested in,” student Airiel Quintana said. Students returning from study abroad programs will also have a house in the new hall.
“It will be helpful for students returning from abroad because that can be a difficult transition,” Quintana, who spent the fall semester of her junior year in Milan, Italy, said.
Not only will the hall be prime real estate for residents, it will also house as many as three classrooms and a courtyard, available for use by the general campus community. According to Kief, the building was based on what the University sees as the future of residence life: bridging the gap between living and learning. This idea has proved to be a success for countless Puget Sound students, as evidenced by the popularity of theme living on campus.
Regarding the Campus Master Plan, President Ronald Thomas said, “The University of Puget Sound’s campus is our most valuable and distinctive asset. It is our link to the past and our key to the future. Our responsibility is to invest in it wisely and care for it responsibly.” Indeed, the new residence hall fulfills this statement by closely linking residence and academic areas.
Students may apply for the new residence hall as early as the Spring 2013 housing lottery. As usual, preference will be given by seniority and interest in the aforementioned areas of study.
PHOTO COURTESY / PUGETSOUND.EDU
