Background:
The Trustees charged the administration with increasing the number of beds on campus by 500 in order to increase the College's capacity to house undergraduates on campus. When Dartmouth expanded its student body in the 1970s to welcome women, the College did not make a corresponding increase to the physical plant. While enrollment has remained relatively constant over the past fifteen years, the pressures on existing housing have increased due to fluctuations in enrollment in off-campus programs, higher demand for leave-term residence, and renovation of existing residences to address building code issues. The addition of the Wheelock Cluster and McCulloch Hall helped to address the shortage, but the College continues to have fewer rooms than needed for students.
While there is no plan to increase the size of the undergraduate student body, the additional beds will address the demand for housing. In addition, as the College continues to renovate residence halls, beds will be lost to code requirements and program plans.
The two connected brick structures that comprise the living areas of the Tuck Mall residence halls will house 162 students in single rooms, and two-room doubles. The buildings will also provide space for a community director and one graduate assistant apartment. A southwestern-facing glass connector between the East and West Residences will offer sweeping views of Tuck Mall, and will contain the primary social spaces serving the cluster: two large common spaces, with lounges and a kitchen on each floor. The common spaces will see use by both this complex, and the adjoining halls: Butterfield, Russell Sage, and Gold Coast.
The halls will total approximately 71,400 gross square feet, with an exterior designed to fit within the existing architecture of Tuck Mall, although the modern atrium will add a contemporary stamp, and serve as a "hinge" between the two wings. As the plot of land slopes downward, the western hall will have five stories, where the eastern hall will only have four. The height of the roof ridge will remain consistent with Butterfield-Sage next door, at 67 feet 2 inches.
More details:
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Gross Square Footage: |
71,400 |
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Footprint (square feet): |
14,255 |
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Number of Student Beds: |
162 |
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Start of Construction: |
April 2005 |
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Estimated Occupancy: |
Fall 2006 |
