A House with a Garden in a Garden - The University Residence and Event Center

Project Statement

“When the peaks of our sky come together My house will have a roof.”
-Paul Eluard as quoted in The Poetics of Space, House and Universe by Gaston Bachelard

The University Residence and Event Center embodies the intricate balance between its dual role as a university focal point and a private dwelling for the Chancellor. Inspired by Bachelard's insights on "House and Universe," the design strives to speak to individuals and the community alike. The act of linking yet separating the Chancellor's residence from the Event Center defines clear public and private zones with their connection celebrated in form and experience. This architecture aspires to self-sustainability and ecological exploration, envisioning an eco-beta site for environmental research. The synergy between architecture, engineering, and nature is pivotal in achieving these goals. The project seeks to integrate with the natural surroundings, a living testament to sustainable living and ecological harmony. The ultimate vision is for the buildings to be nestled so organically within the site that they blend into the university's verdant landscape, reminiscent of its picturesque green pockets.

This project connects the adjacent neighborhood to the university with community accessible outdoor spaces including seating, gardens, and other passive recreational opportunities. Arranged with the natural slope of the site there are outdoor park spaces and views along an alternative procession to the Event Garden and neighborhood beyond. Accessible gardens provide educational and research opportunities through the display of water management and native and adaptive plant species.

A combination of mass timber and structural steel provides the primary structural system. The existing Garage and Parking deck was re-used to accommodate parking entry into the residence and provide additional parking for the Event Center. Existing concrete on site will be crushed and re-used within the landscape.

This project is designed for Living Building Challenge Core, Water and Energy petals as well as NetZero, LEED Platinum and Fitwel. The university would like for this project to be the sustainable model for all new development on campus and a sustainable education center for students and the public. Stormwater, gray water, and blackwater on site is to be collected and filtered through an on-site wastewater system with organic solids waste to thermal energy composting. The project also includes two water gardens adjacent to the residence in a courtyard that provides a naturally cooled micro-climate to mitigate a future warmer climate. On-site renewables will be collected through bio-solar roofs.

Framework for Design Excellence Narrative

**Design for Equitable Communities Narrative:**

The project site is located on the eastern edge of the university campus and serves as the last green space of the beltway of green spaces that run through the campus. Therefore, it was important for this project to connect the adjacent neighborhood to the university with community accessible outdoor spaces including seating, gardens, and other passive recreational opportunities for enhanced campus experience.  Arranged with the natural slope of the site there are outdoor park spaces and views along an alternative procession to the Event Garden and neighborhood beyond.  The publicly accessible gardens provide educational and research opportunities through the display of water management and native and adaptive plant species.  While the primary use of the project was to bring the Chancellor’s Residence back to the campus, the site also allowed for providing sufficient privacy to the residence while also serving as an amenity to the university campus and surrounding neighborhood at large. 

**Design for Ecosystems Narrative:**

At the heart of our vision, "A house with a garden in a garden," the site’s landscape supports ecological resilience and biodiversity, with 57% of the site comprising of gardens with native and adaptive species further enhanced by bio-solar green roofs. The project’s innovative wastewater system, more than functional, transforms ornamental gardens into constructed wetlands, fostering water conservation, awareness and connection between residents and the regional ecosystem.  Exterior lighting is dark sky friendly to minimize disruption to migratory bird patterns. The diverse landscape provides unique habitats for birds and pollinators. Through this intricate weave of architecture and nature, we ensure inhabitants consistently engage with and appreciate the essence of sustainable living.

**Design for Water Narrative:**

Water serves as the building blocks for both the human and wild ecosystems. Through contiguous flow of hydrologic cycles, we connect water systems for humans and water systems of nature. The project is designed with high efficiency plumbing systems with graywater reuse for flush fixtures. The project includes a bioretention system that serves as onsite graywater treatment for rainwater and stormwater. The Residence and Event Center leverages natural infrastructure to create a performative nexus that increases infiltration, improves water quality, and reduces urban heat island and flooding. The Chancellor’s Residence is a Net Positive Water Cycle, and no external potable supply connection is required.  This project is aiming to achieve Living Building Challenge Water petal.

**Design for Energy Narrative:**

This residence is designed for net positive onsite energy through high performance glazing systems, Variable Refrigerant Flow HVAC systems, battery storage for one week of critical power, and solar photovoltaic panels.  This building is aiming to achieve Living Building Challenge Energy Petal, NetZero and LEED Platinum.

**Design for Wellbeing Narrative:**

The project includes water gardens adjacent to the residence in a courtyard that provides a naturally cooled micro-climate with biophilic ecologies.  The design utilized sun studies to maximize building orientation and overhangs and shade structures to passively reduce heat gain.  The project includes consideration to material selection to utilize materials with reduced carbon impact and avoids chemicals of concern.  This project is also aiming to achieve Fitwell certification.

**Design for Resources Narrative:**

A combination of mass timber and structural steel was considered for the primary structural system.  The mass timber was selected for the main structure inside the residence and event center and steel was used on the exterior for durability.  Existing Garage and Parking deck was re-used to accommodate parking entry into the residence and provide additional parking for the Event Center.  Existing concrete on site will be crushed and re-used within the landscape.

**Design for Change Narrative:**

The project was targeted to capture 2.5X stormwater collection and storage for water filtration and re-use.  Stormwater, gray water, and blackwater on site is to be collected and filtered through an on-site wastewater system with organic solids waste to thermal energy composting.  The project also includes two water gardens adjacent to the residence in a courtyard that provides a naturally cooled micro-climate to mitigate a future warmer climate.  The design also encompasses an open floor plan allowing multiple uses to occur within the living spaces of the residence and especially in the Event Pavilion and Center.

**Design for Integration Narrative:**

The University Residence and Event Center embodies the intricate balance between its dual role as a university focal point and a private dwelling for the Chancellor. Inspired by Bachelard's insights on "House and Universe," the design strives to speak to individuals and the community alike. The act of linking yet separating the Chancellor's residence from the Event Center defines clear public and private zones with their connection celebrated in form and experience. This architecture aspires to self-sustainability and ecological exploration, envisioning an eco-beta site for environmental research. The synergy between architecture, engineering, and nature is pivotal in achieving these goals.  The project seeks to integrate with the natural surroundings, a living testament to sustainable living and ecological harmony. The ultimate vision is for the buildings to be nestled so organically within the site that they blend into the university's verdant landscape, reminiscent of its picturesque green pockets.

This project began for us as an invited design competition that included national, international and some local firms.  We ultimately won that design competition.  When we first started work on the design, we ask ourselves, “What should the Chancellor’s residence be and how should it speak to the university and the community?”  We were reminded of Bachelard’s writing on House and Universe and the intricacies of what the idea of home is for each of us as individuals and as the collective.  In the case of the Chancellor’s residence the duality of it serving as a place for university functions while also serving as the private home of the Chancellor comes to the fore.  The primary thoughts about the project are that the Chancellor’s residence and Event Center are linked but separate to provide clear zones of public and private.  The means of linking those two primary facilities are celebrated in their form making and how the resident or the guest experience the buildings and site. 

The overarching wish for the building operations and materiality of the architecture is that it can be self-sustaining and serve as an eco-beta site for environmental research.  Our approach would be for those types of elements to be a collaboration of architecture and engineering with nature to achieve those goals.  We have tried to express a project that if you were to fly over it you would be hard pressed to find the buildings and that the site would appear as another one of those beautiful pockets of green that is the essence of the university campus grounds.  We were less concerned about an architectural style and dwelled more on the relationship of scale, relationship to landscape and considerations that the buildings might be constructed by means of prefabrication and assemblage.  Part of this comes from the idea that certain aspects of the building elements might lend themselves to change in the future.

In the video that was part of the competition brief, there was a discussion with the Chancellor about the act of invitation as a defining principle in the understanding of the purpose and operations of a chancellor’s residence.  We took that critical approach to heart in how there could be an expression of an architectural idea.   While there are numerous goals relative to the act of making an inspiring building, a functional building and a sustainable building we have worked to outline the approach we took at making manifest an architectural idea evolving from the idea of invitation.  The architectural idea centers around the development of architectural elements, the spatial associations of those elements and the placement of those elements as influenced by the genius loci of the site.  

The Site:

The project site is located at the southeast edge of the campus between 17th Avenue South and 18th Ave South and is positioned just east of several significant campus outdoor spaces and resident halls. The project site will serve as the last green space of the east campus greens. Therefore, it was important for this project to connect the adjacent neighborhood to the university with community accessible outdoor spaces. This project connects the adjacent neighborhood to the university with community accessible outdoor spaces including seating, gardens, and other passive recreational opportunities. Arranged with the natural slope of the site there are outdoor park spaces and views along an alternative procession to the Event Garden and neighborhood beyond. Accessible gardens provide educational and research opportunities through the display of water management and native and adaptive plant species.

The site has several existing buildings that will be removed for this project except for the historically significant residence located at the south east corner of the site.   What remains about the site is a grade change of thirty feet from 18th Avenue South down to 17th Avenue South with two shelfs, an upper plinth and a lower plinth.  We have chosen to keep that landform condition to enable opportunities that condition provides.  The existing Garage and Parking deck was re-used to accommodate parking entry into the residence and provide additional parking for the Event Center.  Existing concrete on site will be crushed and re-used within the landscape.

This project is designed for Living Building Challenge Core, Water and Energy petals as well as NetZero, LEED Platinum and Fitwel.  The university would like for this project to be the sustainable model for all new development on campus and a sustainable education center for students and the public. Stormwater, gray water, and blackwater on site is to be collected and filtered through an on-site wastewater system with organic solids waste to thermal energy composting.  The project also includes two water gardens adjacent to the residence in a courtyard that provides a naturally cooled micro-climate to mitigate a future warmer climate.  On-site renewables will be collected through bio-solar roofs.