84259
Evanston, IL
2018
Willard Hall is the centerpiece of a collegiate residential neighborhood with amenities for building residents, the neighborhood, as well as for the broader campus. The lower level is dedicated for use by all students and was reconfigured to house a café, seminar room, collaboration space, exercise room, and classroom. A new accessible main entrance was created at the end of the building closest to the neighboring quads with a new main lounge in a small addition overlooking the quad.
A new apartment on the first floor is a home for a faculty-in-residence that provides mentorship and support to the residents. The apartment lets onto the main lounge for the residence hall which can be used as a venue for hosting gatherings. At the upper floors, the configuration of the sleeping rooms was left intact with new common laundry rooms and lounges with kitchens to draw people together and encourage informal interactions.
The building systems which were original to the building, were at the end of their useful life and were completely replaced. The goal of the renovation was to provide an active and engaging living-learning environment with a focus on creating a sense of home.
