Opened: August 2020Architects: Mackey Mitchell Architects and arcDESIGN
The first step in the re-imagination of the DePauw University South Quad was a dramatic one as the campus unveiled the Vernon E. Jordan, Jr. Residence Hall in 2020. The 50,000-square-foot hall is designed to hold 152 first-year students. Built around a pod-grouping concept, the hall will drive community-building among students. “The plan calls for several new halls for first-year students to be built in the South Quad area, creating a living and learning experience for incoming students in a park-like setting,” says Nicci Collisi, the assistant director of housing and residence life.
The hall includes outdoor seating to complement the adjacent green space. Inside, each residential floor contains community, study, and kitchen spaces. On the first floor there is a larger kitchen area, lounge, and laundry facilities. It was designed to meet the ASHRAE 189.1 standard for high-performance green buildings, including features such as electronically tintable dynamic glass at lounge spaces and a chilled beam system with a 100% fresh air system supporting occupant health. It also was designed with inclusion in mind, providing single-user bathrooms in each pod, a prayer room, and a foot wash station.
The hall is named for Vernon Jordan, Jr., a DePauw alumnus and civil rights leader. When Jordan graduated in 1957, he was the only Black student in his class. In a release announcing the hall, the university recounts a story Jordan often told about his experiences living in DePauw campus housing. He remembered how he and his two white roommates “existed” together at the start of the school year. After about two weeks, Jordan said, one of the roommates told him, “We've been talking. You snore. You fall asleep at your desk when you're studying. Your family sends you cookies. . . . You're just like us.” After that, Jordan said, “we stopped existing together and started living together.”
— James A. Baumann
