Millennium Hall is a great representative of solution-driven design!
This project illustrates how balancing program, budget, and schedule is critical for success. Despite budget constraints and a tight timeline, the design targeted 500 student beds on a very small site, formerly occupied by tennis courts and situated between two existing dormitories, striving for architectural significance. Collaborative efforts with Drexel University, involving focus groups with students and staff, refined the program to align with student life, resulting in a streamlined building design that minimized the footprint while maximizing architectural impact. Innovative structural solutions further optimized space and minimized disturbance during construction, accelerating the project timeline by a year.
The dormitory plan is designed to achieve a high level of efficiency by locating all stacked core elements toward the center of the building, allowing the student rooms to run along the perimeter. While the core maintains the same orientation throughout the entire height of the building, the dynamic form of the building is generated from the simple shift in floor plates from floor to floor. Architecture is not decorative; it is functional: Millennium Hall's design is centered on an integrated team approach, prioritizing systems as the guiding principles.
Residential Learning Communities:
The integrated living and learning environments at Millennium Hall offer specific living spaces with strategically placed common spaces that act as focal points for themed living and learning groups. These communities foster the integration of curricular and co-curricular experiences for students with shared interests. They may revolve around art, theater, or music, unite students dedicated to sustainability, or bring together those exploring or reaffirming their ethnic or cultural identity. Whatever the shared interest, the open-plan configuration supports social integration beyond academic ties. This distinctive residential environment aims to enrich the student experience by fostering a diverse range of thoughts, interactions, and experiences.
The Harman Group, now IMEG AKF Group INTECH Construction
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