Regis College Maria Hall
Sasaki worked with Regis College to create the campus’ first living-learning community. Sasaki’s design expands an existing mid-century residence hall and frames the new Quad and College Walk being constructed concurrently at the heart of campus. The public promenade extends into the ground floor of the building, where academic, fitness, and lounge spaces serve the entire student body. A student lounge at the nexus between the addition and the existing building serves as the living room for the Maria Hall community. The addition also houses 72 beds organized into suites; glassy study lounges at the end of each floor make the activity within visible to what will become the main public space of the campus.
Conceived as a mixed-use living-learning community, the building not only addresses a need for suite-style housing within the college’s residential mix, but also provides up-to-date teaching, common space, and recreational settings where the entire student body can learn, study, and socialize.
The addition mediates the architectural vocabularies of the campus’ original 1920s buildings and its modern 1950s residence halls. Precast and terra-cotta details update the college’s historic masonry materials palette. Ample glazing reveals the interior public spaces—the lobby, lounges, and learning spaces—giving students on College Walk a glimpse of the activity within the building. A natural wood bench runs the length of the lobby, both inside and outside the glass wall, encouraging students on College Walk to pause and congregate. The concurrent design of the building and the campus landscape allowed Sasaki to create moments of connection on campus at multiple scales, from the orientation of the bench to the design of College Walk.
For more information contact Vinicius Gorgati.
