U-M opens North Quad to 450 students, classes

Wednesday, August 25, 2010 | Source: Concentrate

For the first time in 43 years, the University of Michigan will be opening a new student residence. Next week students move into the North Quadrangle Residential and Academic Complex.

North Quad, at Washington and Thayer streets on U-M's campus, will be home to 450 undergrads as well as the School of Information and some of the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. The seven-story academic tower and 10-story residential tower connect classrooms, offices, study centers and corridors beneath the plaza between the towers.

Peter Logan, director of communication for University Housing, explains that blending living and learning spaces enforces that the learning environment isn't confined to the classroom, and living isn't confined to the residence halls. "The co-location of academic and residential facilities creates opportunities for a real dynamic community in the North Quadrangle facilities," he says. "It serves as an important new gateway for central campus that ties very nicely in with the State Street community and with the other portion of central campus."

Common areas, television and video production studios, and a Media Gateway are among the features of the new, 360,000-square-foot, $175 million building. Logan says technology was considered throughout the entire planning of North Quad, to the point that they kept it flexible enough to accommodate any advancements during the years it was being planned.

That reflects not only insight by design and planning groups, but student input as well, he says. "Technology plays an important part in their ability to connect with each other, across campus and across the world," he says.

Green technology was also used for North Quad; features include additional insulation, energy-efficient windows, motion-sensor lighting, and low-flow plumbing. North Quad sits on the site of the former Frieze Building, which was once the Ann Arbor High School, and the north face of the new residence hall incorporated the façade of the former Carnegie Library.

When students move in, "they’re going to love it," Logan says. "It's a marvelous facility. I think it really will do a lot to promote learning. It certainly takes the living experience on campus to a new standard."

Source: Peter Logan, director of communication for University of Michigan Housing
Writer: Kristin Lukowski