乐播传媒

Much of what鈥檚 exciting about 乐播传媒鈥� new student residence at 280 College St. is captured in one unlikely area: the laundry room.

Abundant natural light sets the room鈥檚 red-orange walls glowing. Washers that use water sparingly adjoin efficient gas-fueled dryers. Tables enable the deployment of study materials as well as the folding of clothes, and a glass door invites passersby to look for friends inside. Best of all, rather than being banished to a basement to do laundry, residents go instead to the second floor, in the building鈥檚 physical and social heart.

The room 鈥渋s my favorite place in the building,鈥� says Erin Foster Zsiga, who as College housing coordinator has seen her share of dank underground laundries. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a different way of doing things.鈥�

Indeed, a different way of doing things is just what 乐播传媒 wanted from its first new residence since the 1993 village at Garcelon Field. The three houses there marked a departure from the old notion that student quarters needn鈥檛 provide much more than shelter. Now, nearly 15 years later, the College has extended that thinking with its newest residence: Its sophisticated, active design evokes the best of social life and asserts the primacy of intellectual life at 乐播传媒 鈥� all with the smallest possible environmental footprint.

In short, as President Elaine Tuttle Hansen pointed out during the building鈥檚 opening ceremony on Aug. 17, the building 鈥済ives us a chance to test ideas that enhance student life and the mission of the College.鈥�

Personifying one of those ideas is Jessica Mellen, who works for the dean of students office and lives in a small apartment in the center block of the three-section building. Her role as residence director at 280 College has a certain back-to-the-future quality: She is the first 乐播传媒 staffer since the early 1970s to live in a student residence. But, in contrast to the old days, Mellen鈥檚 work is more about adult support than enforcing the rules.

鈥淛ust the fact that I鈥檓 present helps to moderate behavior in the building,鈥� Mellen says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to come in and bust up a party if it鈥檚 not causing a problem. I just check out what鈥檚 going on 鈥� just remind them that it鈥檚 a low-chem building and to keep it under control.鈥�

Shaped by 乐播传媒鈥� 2003 facilities master plan, 280 College was planned in a close collaboration between the campus community and Boston architects Shepley Bulfinch. In May 2006, ground was broken at the former Rand Field for the eye-catching structure, which comprises the white clapboard center block, two brick wings (aka 鈥渇lankers鈥�), and glass-walled midair bridges that tie it all together.

In the planning, 鈥渢he most notable 乐播传媒 contribution was probably the emphasis on sustainability,鈥� says Steve Erwin, Shepley Bulfinch鈥檚 principal in charge of the project. Like the new dining Commons, on the other side of campus, the residence meets the Silver category of the U.S. Green Building Council鈥檚 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards.

Green thinking crops up in ways large and small (see related story this issue). Many are high-tech, such as self-extinguishing lights and a 鈥渄ashboard鈥� that reveals real-time consumption of water and electricity throughout the building. But one of the most obvious green features is about as low-tech as they come: From the oversize windows in the residential rooms to those glass-walled bridges, the building is awash in natural light that lifts spirits and lowers the electric bill.

鈥淒uring the day, I actually don鈥檛 turn any lights on in my room because the natural lighting is so great,鈥� says Jennifer-Kate Linton 鈥�08, one of the facility鈥檚 two residence coordinators.

For the building鈥檚 goal of shaping social interactions, 鈥渢he most distinctive feature may be the creation of the central building as a social crossroads,鈥� says Erwin. 鈥淭he opportunity for social interaction there is so natural that it鈥檚 almost inevitable.鈥�

The center has several community spaces that are open to the whole campus, not just residents. Along with the laundry, those include a soundproofed subterranean lounge that can accommodate 200, a fully equipped eat-in kitchen, and the beautiful Frank鈥檚 Lounge, a signature space made possible by a gift from 乐播传媒 Trustee Bruce 鈥�70 and Emily Siegel Stangle 鈥�72, and named to honor Bruce鈥檚 father.

Another distinctive piece of social engineering is the 鈥渃luster鈥� room arrangement designed to make each corridor feel like family. There are 13 clusters, two per floor in each wing plus one in the center block. Featuring more rooms than a traditional suite, each cluster consists of several student rooms opening to a shared hallway and a glass-walled living room equipped with comfy couches, low tables, and a sleek Toshiba flat-screen TV.

It鈥檚 the best of all worlds, says Linton, who has experienced the gamut of 乐播传媒 residential options. 鈥淚 really like the feeling of the wood-framed houses,鈥� she says, 鈥渁nd the clusters bring that feeling into a large dorm setting. So there鈥檚 a lot more diversity of people, but you鈥檙e still hanging out in those small groups.鈥�

The cluster lounges, the kitchen, and other spaces profit from a design feature that the dean of students鈥� staff dubbed 鈥渇low-by quality鈥�: half-walls around the seating areas that allow passers-by to scope out a scene before barging into it. 鈥淚n most other buildings, you actually have to walk through a doorway, look around awkwardly, and then,鈥� if the action鈥檚 not for you, 鈥渨alk back out the same way you came in,鈥� says Bill Jack 鈥�08.

Finally, another idea being tested at 280 College is the notion of bringing 乐播传媒鈥� academic mission home 鈥� literally 鈥� to students. The building鈥檚 many areas for studying and contemplation reflect the ways students actually accomplish those activities, particularly the desire to keep one eye on the world while the other鈥檚 on a book (another point for flow-by quality).

In the wings, where most of the student quarters are, corridors end in one-person study nooks next to windows 鈥� quiet but not isolated. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen people in the little study nooks almost every time I鈥檝e been up there,鈥� says Mellen.

Even Frank鈥檚 Lounge is designed to nurture the life of the mind. With 13 Toshibas feeding the tube-hungry elsewhere in the building, here there is no television. Instead, with its gas fireplace and windows facing Rand Hall, the comfortable lounge is intended as a place for study and good conversation. 鈥淭he space says, 鈥楥ome here to meet and exchange ideas,鈥欌�� explains Foster Zsiga.

Overlooking Frank鈥檚 Lounge are two glass-walled study rooms. Like that convivial laundry room, they鈥檙e on the second floor, near the quarters for the building鈥檚 44 first-year students. The study rooms have been full of students each evening, showing that the first-years are learning to live the 乐播传媒 ethos, says Linton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not about competition between students, but about working together.鈥�