University of Miami Lakeside Village Student Housing
“The University of Miami Lakeside Village is an architecturally striking, sustainable and eco-friendly student housing community, accommodating 1,115 students. The building is articulated by its division into a series of clusters in a series of 25, 7-story, interconnected buildings, or pods. This allows the building to introduce natural daylight and views into the interior circulation spaces while also giving the overall scale of the building a community expression as opposed to a singular building.
At 569,000 square feet, the development provides for a variety of mixed-uses for students and resembles the popular live, work, play model on the 12-acre site. Lakeside Village includes several interactive classrooms, administrative offices, music rooms, study rooms and nooks, a wellness and fitness room, a 200-seat multiple-purpose auditorium, a 7,000 square feet exhibition hall and gallery space, a mail room as well as food and beverage options.
The design eliminates vehicular traffic in exchange for pedestrian-centric major and secondary walkways connecting key nodes and buildings throughout the lush tropical landscape. The design inspiration was found off the coast in Biscayne Bay in a protected area called Stiltsville, where for decades a cluster of houses seems to float on water on large wooden pilings or pilotis.
For the new student housing, raising the living spaces 25 feet above the ground “on stilts” solved the issue of sustainability related to flooding and security by only allowing secured and controlled access points. Given the location in a hurricane zone, every aspect of the building and operations must be accountable to the environment.
Two large, monumental staircases, one interior and one exterior, were designed and strategically located to allow vertical access between the residential floor encouraging students to move through the circulation incorporating International WELL Building Institute’s principles for human health and well-being.
With the goal of a LEED Gold certification, the rich tropical landscape plays a major role due to the eco-friendly designs that include 60,000 square feet of green roofs to reduce solar heat gain and collect rainwater for the rain gardens below. More than 100 plants and trees from the site were relocated and replanted; surrounding the building and contributing to 74,000 square feet of tree canopy. An aerial view highlights the green roofs acting as if they were imitating the trees.
Category:Affordable, Social, and Community Living HousingYear:2022Location:Miami, Florida, USAArchitects:ArquitectonicaLead Architect: Alejandro Gonzalez Design Team: Bernardo Fort-BresciaContractor:Moss and AssociatesClient: University of MiamiPhotographer: Robin Hill Photography, Miami-in-Focus Photography
