Density Reimagined: Creating a new model for student housing

Aspiration

The University of Chicago wanted to develop a residential complex for 800 students, resident directors and faculty masters, as well as a new dining facility. The urban site on the south edge of campus called for a high-density design solution. But it had to feel like a destination—and like home.

Important goals included:

Build a sense of community at multiple scales
Fit comfortably with the adjacent residential neighborhood
Balance openness with security

Realization

Through collaborative programming with students, residence life staff and administrators, Goody Clancy developed an innovative design approach. Four-story houses of 100 students each are stacked into a high-rise complex, surrounding two private courtyards. Inviting lounges and shared common spaces serve the entire resident population, complemented by a vibrant, glassy dining facility. The contemporary design holds its own in the context of neighboring buildings by modernist architects Mies and Saarinen.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

One building, eight houses

The innovative design stacks small residence “houses” within a larger urban complex.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

Fostering a vibrant student community

Facilities are designed to foster social interaction and support extensive programming. By locating communal spaces of different scales and character strategically within the complex, residents have multiple settings in which to engage their classmates and faculty. The two-story living room is the center of each house’s social life. This light-filled space is complemented by a kitchen, study rooms, and smaller lounges to support a range of activities.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

A home for students

The complex offers a variety of residential housing options, from singles and doubles to suite-style housing. Rooms feature large expanses of glass and operable windows.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

Stepping down to meet its neighbors

To relate sensitively to the adjacent residential community, the building’s massing was modulated from eight stories to five on the southern edge. Variety and domestic scale are provided by expressing the master’s houses at the corners, and including stoops.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

Transparent dining

The new dining facility is wrapped in glass to put its activity on view and to enhance the experience of arrival at the complex. It was carefully integrated as an addition to the adjacent historic Burton-Judson Courts dorm and dining facility, and includes a retail café/convenience store open to the university community and to the neighborhood.

“ The [project] could turn out to be a model for transforming anonymous mid-rise housing into intimate residential clusters.”

- Blair Kamin,
Chicago Tribune Architecture Critic

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

Balancing openness with security

First Floor Plan, showing courtyard-level entries for houses 1–5. Students enter through the secure Main Entry and either proceed up the elevator to the Sky Lobby or continue through into one of two interior courtyards that lead to individual entries for the ground-level houses.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

Multi-level connections

Each House is united vertically by an open stairway, linking the shared spaces on its first level with the upper floors.

University of Chicago South Residence Halls and Dining Complex Goody Clancy Inspiring Works Architecture

A neighborhood oasis

The complex defines two sunny courtyards that open directly from the shared larger living rooms and the main entrance. The ground-level houses are entered off the secure courtyards.