The Highlands at Edinboro

Edinboro University

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CLIENT GOALS

Edinboro’s existing housing stock needed improvements with a significant capital expenditure.  A goal was to transform from the existing dormitory-style configuration with common shared bathrooms to suites style with integral bathrooms, and individual living spaces.  The housing initiative needed to address the University’s student recruitment and retention efforts.  Also, financial constraints dictated that this be a P3 cooperative arrangement.  The design direction was to create housing options that more closely reflected the expectations of potential students, desiring a homelike environment.

SOLUTIONS

A two-phase replacement of 1,600 student-housing beds, configured within eight buildings with 200 beds each, was designed with single and double occupancy bedrooms.  The buildings’ geometric forms were sited to create a series of smaller residential neighborhoods, successfully breaking down the scale of a large complex.  Several green space courtyards and a central plaza area were included to accommodate outdoor learning, socializing, and special events.

Exterior and interior design materials were selected to create a comfortable, homelike residential scale and feel. The design accomplished a true sense of connectivity to existing adjacent campus facilities, and planned for connections to future campus expansion.  Pedestrian paths were designed to connect this community to campus and future developments.

A phasing plan was developed to enable the construction of the new buildings and demolition of two existing large residence halls without reducing the Universities available bed count.

RESULTS

This project is LEED Certified.   The cornerstone of the LEED approach was an HVAC system that utilized a closed loop geothermal well field system. The University received a $500,000 grant from the Commonwealth for this system.

“One of our concerns was who would be an advocate for the University in this effort. It became apparent immediately that your (Dennis Wilkins) leadership on the project would provide the necessary bridge to delivering the project in the best interest of the University. Our second concern was meeting the very aggressive schedule to get students in by January of 2008. Your efforts and those of Sean Plunkett were instrumental in accelerating the design and construction of two of the four building to meet this deadline. Putting in place over $18,000,000 of new construction in just under eleven months was a remarkable effort. Your team leadership and Sean's attention to the contractor's questions was crucial in meeting our deadline. Your diligence in partnering with us to control the project budget and project schedule has made The Highlands at Edinboro a ringing success.”

Dennis Frampton
Former Chair

Edinboro University Foundation