Grand Forks, North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (UND) celebrated the grand opening of the Wilkerson Quad and the Landing Zone on October 6, 2023. These two spaces are the newest additions to the latest UND housing project that has been 22 months in the making. The quad is a 1.7-acre courtyard that offers social space to students and includes a fire pit, a hammock farm, and tables and chairs for studying or lounging outdoors. The Landing Zone is a spacious lounge with soft seating, desks, game tables, and televisions. Both are connected to the Wilkerson Dining Center, and together they complete a hub of student life for UND as they are encircled by and connected to West Hall, McVey Hall, and Brannon Hall.
West Hall is the most recent hall, opening in August of 2023 and named after the university’s sixth president, John C. West. It is a new build with 466 beds configured in several options: suite-style, single, and ADA-accessible single rooms. It offers a kitchenette, study spaces, lounges, and laundry room on every floor, and it is connected to four other residence halls, the service center, a convenience store, the dining center, and the Landing Zone through an aboveground walkway.
McVey Hall is also a new build, opening midway through the last semester in 2022. It has 398 beds and, like West Hall, they are configured in suite-style, single, and ADA-accessible rooms. McVey offers lounges, laundry facilities, and study areas on each floor, along with kitchenettes on the first and third floors. It is connected to Brannon Hall by a ground-floor walkway, and students have access to the Landing Zone through an aboveground walkway.
Brannon Hall, a fully renovated hall, opened in August of 2022. It has 268 beds and offers both suite-style and single-room configurations. There are common areas and study spaces throughout the building, a kitchenette and laundry facilities on the first floor, a television lounge, and a game room. And, like West and McVey, Brannon has an aboveground walkway for students to walk to the Landing Zone.
Troy Noeldner, the director of housing and residence life, shared his excitement for the opportunities these new and renovated halls have for nurturing student development and community. He notes some of his favorite features of each. In West Hall, the rooms are spacious and modern, the ground-to-ceiling windows allow for natural light, the color themes for each floor add vibrancy, and all the study and lounge spaces bring students together. McVey Hall offers great views of the entire campus and the quad, and its kitchen lounges have been favorite spots for residents baking together or hosting movie nights or craft sessions. The renovation of Brannon Hall was able to preserve its foundation, which provided opportunities for more accessibility and modern features like large community spaces for floor and hall gatherings. And all the walkways that connect the halls to each other and to the dining center and quad are a bonus. “This feature is especially great when it comes to conquering North Dakota winters,” Noeldner says. — Camille Perlman
Spotlight is your chance to show off recent construction or renovation projects. Member institutions and architects are encouraged to share details about hall features, related programs, and how they connect to the overall housing mission as well as photographs of the completed building. Share your success stories.