Lehigh University Singleton, Hitch, and Maida Residential Houses
Bethlehem, PA
Enhancing the student life experience by creating nodes of activity around residential buildings
Lehigh University Residential Life Master Plan
New residential life buildings infill a ring of student housing surrounding the campus core, connecting distributed buildings with landscape that helps pedestrians traverse topographic change
Lehigh University worked with Sasaki to evaluate and improve the residential life experience for the university’s undergraduate and graduate students. The goal of the residential life master plan was to create a residential experience that encourages students to grow and develop holistically through a network of residential life spaces.
By leveraging infill development sites, new on-campus housing connects existing undergraduate residential buildings to each other and improves student access to amenities and support spaces. The site selection strategy also helped bridge topographic change and created accessible pathways between the fraternity and sorority houses “on the hill” and residence halls near the campus core for a more integrated undergraduate residential experience.
Bridge West, a two building complex, steps up the hill from the University Center in the heart of campus to the fraternity and sorority houses up the hill. Pedestrian connections within the building flow through community spaces (shown in blue) and incorporate elevators to create an accessible route that welcomes everyone in the campus community
Bridge East, nestled into the hillside between two existing residential buildings, provides community space on the ground floor. This space connects existing residential buildings that contribute to Lehigh’s character with iconic stone facades but don’t have major community spaces (which were uncommon in the era in which they were built). The new building provides social amenities for students from all of the buildings to share
From left, Drinker House, Bridge East, McClintic-Marshall House, Taylor House, and Bridge West form a segment of the residential ring encircling Lehigh’s campus core, just behind the University Center. The Bridge West and Bridge East projects are critical connectors to existing residential buildings that feel very separate today
In addition to improving the residential life experience for students, the plan also sought to identify ways to increase on-campus residential capacity to support a period of strategic enrollment growth. A careful implementation strategy was required to simultaneously improve the quality of the residential experience for all students, accommodate additional residents, and allow significant other campus capital projects to proceed. The plan includes a phasing strategy that balances new construction with targeted renovations of existing buildings. Early phases of implementation support the first wave of enrollment growth and enable renovations to existing housing to create parity within the residential life experience. Later phases support additional enrollment growth and an increase in on-campus housing rates. Implementation strategies also identified sites suitable for alternative development approaches; working with real estate developers to develop student housing on peripheral campus properties enabled the university to meaningfully increase the number of available student beds on campus while also investing in major student life and academic spaces on campus.
The Brodhead Avenue parking lot leading up to the main campus gateway is transformed into a welcoming and dynamic processional building. This peripheral site offered an opportunity for upper division students to increase their independence while remaining in university housing, and for the university to work with a partner to develop the project at a lower cost to Lehigh, away from the expensive masonry facades appropriate to the campus core. Because of the important gateway location, Sasaki worked with Lehigh to develop specific design guidelines for their chosen partner to follow
The Brodhead Avenue residential life building ascends Brodhead Avenue, providing a campus feel to Lehigh’s main gateway. Extending to the South Bethlehem business district, this peripheral on-campus location connects upper-division students to retail, dining, and social activities
Implementation
The new Bridge West Student Housing neighborhood at Lehigh University is currently under construction. This new residential community is a realization of the first phase of the master plan and will create a strong network of student life neighborhoods surrounding the academic core of campus.
For more information contact Caitlyn Clauson.
