The turning of the calendar meant new living quarters for about 800 University of Cincinnati (UC) students. The unique timing of the switch occurred during the semester break as renovations were completed on landmark Calhoun Hall, new work began on the neighboring Siddall Hall, and the residents flipped from one tower to the other.
The top-to-bottom renovation was about updating a hall built in 1967 and also committing resources to the campus’s living-learning communities. The $80 million project resulted in 21,200 square feet of lounge and lobby space on the ground floor, including classrooms, project spaces, a communal kitchen, and laundry areas. High-top tables are scattered around the lobby as well as informal gathering spaces with televisions where students can set up gaming equipment or work together. Trent Pinto, UC’s director of residence education and development, said that “The design of Calhoun Hall was imagined with the student experience front and center. Students today are accustomed to group projects and collaborations, working together within and across study disciplines. This design is indicative of the importance of space for collaboration and community connection.”
Each of the 13 floors that house students has 29 rooms with a mixture of single, double, or quad spaces. Health club-style common bathrooms are placed on each floor, featuring floor-to-ceiling enclosed showers and floor-to-ceiling enclosed lavatories. In addition, each floor also has two fully outfitted, fully private bathrooms. One of the most noteworthy alterations is that the formerly boxed-in hall now allows natural light to fill the common space on each floor and flow down the widened residential corridors. The insulated windows, combined with panels on the building’s exterior, will also provide greater soundproofing against the outside traffic and street noise.
"Living and learning within the residential environment has a clear and profound impact on student success, engagement and retention,” says UC President Neville Pinto. “This includes greater participation in academic activities and, overall, their sense of belonging to the university community. This is what we want for our students.”
— James A. Baumann. Photos courtesy of Andrew Higley/University of Cincinnati.