The research methodology requires two components: literature review and precedent study. The literature review requires gathering relevant data from the specified documents and compiling databases in order to analyze the material and arrive at a more complete understanding of the various topics. These various topics were the new trends that colleges are going through and should be considered when regarding their dorm design. The three main trends are: creating a safe space, ensuring health and wellness, and creating a work-life balance. Through each of these are sub categories where the literature review was based on. For creating a safe space, the topics are gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and race. For health and wellness, the topics are nutrition, exercise, allergies, and toxicity. Lastly, for work-life balance, there are productivity, leisure time, and support through living-learning communities. All of this information comes from journal articles accessed from the UB library and Google Scholar.

The precedent study will consist of three different kinds of precedents. The first is, through site visits and research, the facilities of local colleges in the Buffalo area will be analyzed. Each campus that offers freshman housing has its own different room styles and amenities. A preliminary analysis will be done comparing and contrasting the schools housing features. The first thing to check is to see how many out of the 9 schools in Buffalo actually offer housing. Another thing looked upon are the kind of rooms the schools offer. Usually this differs between traditional or suite style dorms. Also, the amenities in these Buffalo schools will be looked into. These amenities are: a fitness center, a dining hall in or connected to the residence hall and if not, one nearby, a kitchenette, a laundry room, lounges, a business center, and a convenience store. The second kind of precedent study are good examples of residential design. There are exceptional residential facilities that are recognized by the architectural community. The last kind of precedent study are looking at issue based dormitories, meaning looking at dormitories that are mentioned within the articles in the literature study.

Designing a Freshman Residence Hall for the Next Generation

Students go through a transition during the years of college. They enter as adolescents  and exit as adults. During these years, students should be introduced to an environment that will keep them safe, healthy, and encourage them to maintain a balance between work and life. Creating a safe space for students in college is especially important in this time since there are so many groups students belong to ranging from race, religion, gender identity, and sexual orientation. These areas should encourage students to be who they are and who they want to be without fear. Students also need to have a healthy body throughout college to go with their healthy mind. Taking care of one’s body in college can be challenging, but can be done right through nutrition, exercise, maintaining allergies, and avoiding toxicity. Lastly, students need to learn how to maintain a work-life balance throughout college in order decrease stress in already busy lives. Students need to manage time well to be productive in their work and have time for their own leisure. This transition can be made easier if prepared well in the beginning with the correct environment within their school. This leads to quality freshmen student housing.

The aim of this study is to find out how freshmen residence halls can facilitate trends of creating a safe space, maintaining health and wellness, and creating a work-life balance through architectural design. The way this will be done is through two methods: literary review and precedent study. Since the topic of what makes a good residential hall isn’t new, there is considerable research literature on the subject. This includes looking deep into the subcategories of the three main ideas. In regards to creating a safe space, issues of gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, and race are looked into and how the respective campuses have these issues or solve them. For maintaining health and wellness, issues of nutrition, exercise, allergies, and toxicity are looked into to keep students healthy. Lastly, for creating a work-life balance, topics of productivity, leisure time, and support for students through living-learning communities are looked into. The precedent study will focus on exceptional residential facilities in the architectural press, dormitories that relate issue-wise to the literary study and the facilities of local colleges in the Buffalo area. Each campus that offers freshman housing has its own different room styles and amenities.

All this material will result in the design or renovation of a university residence hall in Buffalo: a freshmen residence hall for the next generation. It will feature different styles of rooms for students of diverse personalities, backgrounds, and preferences. This includes their own definition of privacy, community, and convenience. The implications of this study would be to improve freshmen housing in universities to better prepare freshmen students for the years ahead by helping them learn about themselves.

For some people, leaving home for the first time can be a challenging thing. It means starting a new life and stepping into a whole new world, especially when entering college. Students go through a transition during those years of school. They enter as children and exit as adults. During these years, students find out about themselves. They find out their own identify by figuring out what they like, don’t like, and who they are in general. Students also learn how to get out of their comfort zone, meaning socializing. College is not just a time for one’s education, but also for learning how to make new friends, get along with roommates, and maintain those relationships. Lastly, without parents, students have to everything on their own and become more independent. This includes shopping, food, and finding balance between the schoolwork and relaxing. This transition can be made easier if prepared well in the beginning with the correct environment within their school. This leads to quality freshmen student housing.

The aim for this study is to find out how freshmen residence halls can facilitate goals of identity, independence, and social skills and how it can be provided through architectural design. It would also take notice of a safe and secure environment would include safety of students, crime, reputation, and marketing. The way this will be done is through three methods: literary review, precedent study, and survey. Since the topic of what makes a good residential hall isn’t new, there are plenty of previous experiments and surveys that have been done on that works as well as student preferences, and their own psychological behavior. These will be analyzed for a literary study. For the precedent study, while a few exceptional dormitories will be looked at, it will primarily be on the colleges within Buffalo. Each campus that offers freshman housing has its own different room styles and amenities. Lastly, a survey will be issued to students of the University at Buffalo asking them of their opinions of their on-campus housing as a freshman and what can be changed. There is no better source of information than from the people who use these facilities.

All this material will result in the design or renovation of a university residence hall within the location of Buffalo, since that is where most of the approach is. The design would take note of what the university/college do for freshmen and then grant what they need. It will feature different styles of rooms for students of diverse personalities and preferences. This includes their own definition of privacy, community, and convenience. Additionally, the design will also have amenities that will help and benefit students and make their already busy lives a little easier. The implications of this study would be to improve freshmen housing in universities to better prepare freshmen students for the years ahead by helping them learn about themselves.

For some people, leaving home for the first time can be a challenging thing. It means starting a new life and stepping into a whole new world, especially upon entering college. Students go through a transition during those years of school. Without parents, students have to everything on their own and become more independent. This includes shopping, food, and finding balance between the schoolwork and relaxing. The transition can be less challenging with the correct environment within their school, more especially their housing. Student housing is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a university or college. It is where the student spends most of their time and is where they work, sleep, shower, relax, and sometimes eat. So, having a quality residence hall that satisfies the needs and comforts of students is essential. While this statement could mean something different to each student in regards to their satisfaction, there is no denying that there are common needs and wants for students in general.

The aim for this study is to find out what exactly are the needs and comforts students require and how it can be provided through architectural design. The way this will be done is through three methods: literary review, precedent study, and survey. Since the topic of what makes a good residential hall isn’t new, there are plenty of previous experiments and surveys that have been done on that works as well as student preferences, and their own psychological behavior. These will be analyzed for a literary study. For the precedent study, while a few exceptional dormitories will be looked at, it will primarily be on the colleges within Buffalo. Each campus that offers housing has its own different room styles and amenities. Lastly, a survey will be issued to students of the University at Buffalo asking them of their opinions of their on-campus housing and what can be changed. There is no better source of information than from the people who use these facilities.

All this material will result in the design of a university residence hall within the location of Buffalo, since that is where most of the approach is. The design will feature different styles of rooms and apartments for students of diverse demographics and personalities. This includes their own definition of privacy, community, and convenience. Additionally, the design will also have amenities that will help and benefit students and make their already busy lives a little easier. There are a couple questions that will be answered throughout this process: Basing on a variety of different students, what are the common needs and comforts that deem satisfaction within a university dormitory? What amenities are essential to have in the dormitory itself in regards to food, technology, community etc. as opposed to elsewhere on the campus?

For some people, leaving home for the first time can be a challenging thing. It is starting a new life and stepping into a whole new world, especially upon entering college. Students go through a transition during those years of school. Instead of having parents to help with everything, students have to do it on their own and become more independent. This includes shopping, food, and finding balance between the schoolwork and relaxing. The transition helps with the correct environment within their school, more especially their housing. Student housing is considered to be one of the most important aspects of a university or college. It is where the student spends most of their time. It’s where they work, sleep, shower, relax, and sometimes eat. So, having a quality residence hall that satisfies the needs and comforts of students is essential. While this statement could mean something different to each student in regards to their satisfaction, there is no denying that there are common needs and wants for various students.

The aim for this study is to find out what exactly are the needs and comforts students require and how to give it to them. The way this will be done is through three methods: literary review, precedent study, and survey. Since the topic of what makes a good residential hall isn’t new, there is plenty of material done on the subject that will be analyzed for a literary review. People have done their own experiments and surveys of what works, students preferences, and their own psychological behavior. For the precedent study, while a few exceptional dormitories will be looked at, it will primarily be on the colleges within Buffalo. Each one that has housing has its own different room styles and amenities. Lastly, a survey will be issued to students of the University at Buffalo asking them of their opinions of their on-campus housing and what can be changed. There is no better source of information than from the people who use these facilities.

All this material will result in the design of a university residence hall. The location would be in Buffalo since that is where most of the approach is. It will feature different styles of rooms and apartments for various students. It will also have amenities that will help and benefit students and add some more convenience to their already busy lives. There are a couple questions that will be answered throughout this process: Basing on a variety of different students, what are the common needs and comforts that deem satisfaction within a university dormitory? What amenities are essential to have in the dormitory itself in regards to food, technology, community etc. as opposed to elsewhere on the campus?