Western Texas College | Glover Residence Hall

Construction Cost : $4.7M | SF : 45,000 Glover Residence Hall was a design-build project with a very small budget for a fast growing 2 year college in west Texas. The project site was located adjacent to a 2 year old residence hall on campus. The scope of work included three distinct buildings: a 150 bed dual occupancy Residence Hall, a Commons Building to be used by both the new and existing Residence Halls and a Student Health Clinic. RSA’s design oriented the new residence hall at a 30 degree angle to the existing hall creating a dynamic triangular shaped courtyard with the Commons Building and Health Clinic at the head of the triangle. The Type V wood structure with limited use of accent brick on the exterior helped the Owner meet their strict budgetary requirements. The Residence Hall contains dual occupancy living units and a single laundry room. Stacked living units project in and out creating undulating massing elements facade with alternating use of brick and cementitious plank siding breaking up the length of the building by creating positive and negative spaces. “Rural Chimneys” were the signature architectural element used to convey the project’s semi-rural location in west Texas. The attached Commons Building was required by the College to meet FEMA 361 requirements for resistance to tornados which are prevalent in the area. The Commons Building was constructed of insulated concrete forms, a composite concrete roof deck and tornado resistant glazing. The building houses the student recreation space and lounge/study areas as well as vending, public restrooms and the Residence Life Office. The Student Health Clinic completes the “Residential Village” concept by creating a private courtyard filled with green space and picnic tables for student recreation and study. This project is an example of RSA’s unique ability to design within a limited budget while maintaining efficient life cycle costs. RSA’s design respected materials used on the existing campus and adjacent residence hall bringing harmony to the campus architecture while injecting fresh new dynamic design elements.