Webster University opens new residence halls
The latest in cutting edge institutional architecture, interior design and technology is on display to 343 new and returning Webster University students with the opening of new residence halls this week.
The new residence halls, located south of the existing Webster Village apartment complex, 520 Garden Ave., Webster Groves, will add an additional 213 students to Webster University’s growing on-campus residential community. Due to unusually warm winter weather throughout much of the construction, the residence halls were completed ahead of schedule and on budget. Students have moved in and classes are beginning today.
The residence halls were designed to build community and include much more than just dorm rooms. Room arrangements are suite-style, meaning residents share bathrooms among a few roommates as opposed to having a community shower on each floor. Through clever use of technology, students are able to access the Internet and watch television through their computer monitor. The four-floor buildings feature a classroom, multipurpose rooms and laundry facilities and each floor contains kitchens, lounges and study rooms. Two separate buildings, West Hall and East Hall, make up the new residence halls, which occupy 97,300 total square feet.
The architects, Mackey Mitchell & Associates, have minimized the overall mass of the building to create a more residential scale. More than half of the "public" façade along Edgar Road is brick, with half-timber detailing on the upper floors and on projected bay window elements. The west building, along Edgar Road, is built into the ground to lower the apparent height of the structure.
For the past five years Webster University has had a waiting list of students desiring on-campus housing. The University’s total on-campus housing inventory is now 710 beds, with a long-term goal of housing 1,000 students. The university plans to increase and improve the living and learning environment for students while working closely with the City of Webster Groves to meld the university’s architecture with nearby residential neighborhoods.
Plans for the new residence halls were unveiled to faculty, staff and students at Webster University in November 2004 and were approved by the City of Webster Groves in February 2005. The University will use Maria and Loretto Halls for staff and faculty offices.
Founded in 1915 and based in St. Louis, Missouri, Webster University is a nonprofit, international university with a worldwide network of more than 100 campuses across the United States, Europe and Asia. The University enrolls approximately 20,000 students worldwide and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, the School of Business and Technology, the School of Communications and the School of Education. The University’s mission is educating students to be lifelong, independent learners in an ever-changing international society.
The residence halls were designed to build community and include much more than just dorm rooms. Room arrangements are suite-style, meaning residents share bathrooms among a few roommates as opposed to having a community shower on each floor. Through clever use of technology, students are able to access the Internet and watch television through their computer monitor. The four-floor buildings feature a classroom, multipurpose rooms and laundry facilities and each floor contains kitchens, lounges and study rooms. Two separate buildings, West Hall and East Hall, make up the new residence halls, which occupy 97,300 total square feet.
The architects, Mackey Mitchell & Associates, have minimized the overall mass of the building to create a more residential scale. More than half of the "public" façade along Edgar Road is brick, with half-timber detailing on the upper floors and on projected bay window elements. The west building, along Edgar Road, is built into the ground to lower the apparent height of the structure.
For the past five years Webster University has had a waiting list of students desiring on-campus housing. The University’s total on-campus housing inventory is now 710 beds, with a long-term goal of housing 1,000 students. The university plans to increase and improve the living and learning environment for students while working closely with the City of Webster Groves to meld the university’s architecture with nearby residential neighborhoods.
Plans for the new residence halls were unveiled to faculty, staff and students at Webster University in November 2004 and were approved by the City of Webster Groves in February 2005. The University will use Maria and Loretto Halls for staff and faculty offices.
Founded in 1915 and based in St. Louis, Missouri, Webster University is a nonprofit, international university with a worldwide network of more than 100 campuses across the United States, Europe and Asia. The University enrolls approximately 20,000 students worldwide and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs through the College of Arts and Sciences, the Leigh Gerdine College of Fine Arts, the School of Business and Technology, the School of Communications and the School of Education. The University’s mission is educating students to be lifelong, independent learners in an ever-changing international society.
