University of Delaware
Newark, DE

As part of a campus-wide effort to improve student life facilities, the University of Delaware selected Ayers/Saint/Gross to redevelop the Pencader Residence Hall Complex located on 16 acres at the school’s Laird Campus. The project removes outdated student housing and replaces it with new student housing and reconfigured open space over a two-phased construction schedule. This $73,000,000 construction cost project is scheduled for completion in the summer of 2007.

The newly sited buildings are inserted into the existing context to create a residential village that brings a density and scale appropriate to creating community. The new residence halls front open spaces that encourage student interaction as well as providing much needed recreation space. Pedestrian access to the site will be from a newly constructed bridge spanning a wooded ravine and providing direct accessible connection to the main campus.

The hardscape of the Pencader campus is focused along the central spine. Plazas connect this spine to the buildings at focal points along the way. Overlooks are provided to emphasize the connection to nature. The palette of the historic central campus is carried over to this new development. Brick pavers create the central walkway and plazas.

Landscape areas are stratified according to topography. The flat planes adjacent to the new buildings are predominantly lawn, the gentle slopes falling away from these lawns are meadows, and the steep slopes falling to the forest and ravine are sweeps of flowering shrubs.

The project will be constructed in two phases. The first phase will include relocation of existing basketball, tennis and sand volleyball courts; demolition of 2 of the existing buildings and the construction of the North buildingsand associated open space. The second phase will include demolition of the remaining existing buildings, and the construction of the South buildings, bridge and remaining open space.

Completion: 2007
Size: 16 Acres
Cost: $2,630,300