Constructing a Transient Permanence

A residence hall is a temporary home. Yet, it can be the most impactful campus environment on a student's education and life. From lifelong friendships to retention rates, residence halls affect students as many experience their first opportunity to express their individuality and personal responsibility. No study can conclusively determine that one residence hall type is better than another. Rather, it is a hall's overall gestalt that determines student satisfaction and a positive perception of community.

The question of my thesis explores how residence hall architecture can anticipate its role as an inspiring distraction to the individual that provokes interaction, engagement, and community as a building type that is not quite transient and not quite permanent.