Commerce, Texas
The new student housing project at Texas A&M Commerce is positioned on the site so as to take full advantage of the opportunity to provide a new ‘front door’ as traffic approaches the campus from the south. The building suggests the creation of a public courtyard for students, faculty, and visitors which could be completed in latter phases of new housing, but also acts as a buffer to the highway on the West and main arterial road to the South for the outdoor activities which take place on the campus side of the project. This courtyard also contains shaded seating areas and gathering space where students and faculty can congregate and intermingle.
The building is divided into three wings, sharing a common rotunda form at the most prominent corner of the site. Clearly visible from both public and campus sides of the project, the rotunda acts as the main public entry into the building and houses the student lounges on the second and third floors. Each wing houses 14-15 two bedroom units plus a one bedroom RA unit on each floor. This cluster of 28 – 30 students plus one RA comprises a typical living/learning unit, and by virtue of the village concept has a specific identity in the project as a whole. This arrangement promotes student identity, diversity, and community in the student’s everyday activities.