Sarasota, Florida
The University of South Florida, Sarasota-Manatee celebrated the opening of its first residence hall in August 2024. Atala Residence Hall is connected to the Campus Student Center and is named after a rare tropical butterfly that visits the campus frequently. Building this hall put a major transition for students into play, taking it from a commuter campus to a residential one, and the first students to live in Atala have the honor of laying the foundation for a strong residential community and student community for the campus.
Combined, Atala Hall and the Campus Student Center create a six-story building. Atala Hall offers housing for 200 students on the top four floors of the building in suite- and apartment-style configurations. The Campus Student Center is on the first two floors where space has been carved out for offices and meeting rooms for student government and other campus organizations, a dining hall, a bookstore, a game room, a mail center, laundry facilities, lounges, study rooms, and a ballroom. There are also offices for USF World, the office that leads the university’s international education programs.
“My favorite part of Atala Hall is the breathtaking view of the bay from the sixth-floor community kitchen,” says Ana Hernandez, associate vice president of auxiliary enterprises and strategic contract management. “We intentionally built this large community space at the top of the building for residents to engage with each other while appreciating the beauty of the campus and Florida sunshine.”
There was a high level of student involvement and excitement in building Atala Hall and the Campus Student Center from the beginning – so much so that students agreed to have part of their student activity and service fee put toward the construction of the residence hall and the student center. Students were heavily involved in the design as well, providing feedback with details about design features they had seen on other campuses. The 2022-23 student governor of the campus was also part of the team that interviewed the prospective architect firms.
“Atala Hall and the Student Center have transformed the USF Sarasota-Manatee campus,” says Hernandez. “Students, faculty, and staff now have a beautiful space focused on connection, collaboration, and community. It has already been instrumental in student recruitment and retention now that there is a place on-campus students can call their home away from home.” The completion of Atala and the Campus Student Center rounds out the campus’s resources for students that also include the Crosley Campus Center, a student wellness and fitness center. — Camille Perlman