Of the five state colleges in the Massachusetts system, Worcester State has the second-lowest ratio of on-campus student housing. To meet the College’s goal of providing more on-campus housing at a time when students are being priced out of available housing in the community, Kleinfelder prepared a development plan for the residential district, including site selection and design for a new residence hall.
The project is part of an overall distrct plan that include programming and renovation of the largest existing residence hall—Chandler Village. The intent of the comprehensive approach was to bring all of the existing and new units up to a standard that will provide high quality and good value, as well a variety of housing choices for students. Specifically Kleinfelder devised planning and architectural solutions for redesign and reduction of apartment sizes in Chandler Village, to make the oldest residence hall on campus an attractive choice.
Kleinfelder worked with the Director of Residence Life and MSCBA through a workshop design and review process to assure that the architectural plans and the site planning fit the long-range development objectives of Worcester State. With limited land, the college needed to carefully plan for long-range land use for buildings, roads, utilities and parking to ensure that the quality of campus life is maintained. Kleinfelder’s planning work included landscaping, parking, utility relocations, site and traffic planning, while promoting a sustainable campus.
Kleinfelder conceived the planning for the new residential complex as a gateway between the academic campus and the residential area. A large gap in the building at the ground plane adjacent to a cafeteria encourages pedestrian movement and activity between both halves of the campus.
Location:
Worcester, Massachusetts
Owner:
Massachusetts State College Building Authority (MSCBA)
