BOSTON–Kripper Studio completed the design and implementation of several improvements at Northeastern University’s West Village G Student residences. Shared amenity spaces, classrooms, the main entrance, and other access points received a comprehensive refresh as well as the introduction of greater energy-saving efficiencies.
Work commenced in May 2023, at the conclusion of the academic year and continued with a greatly accelerated time frame over the summer to meet the deadline of students returning in late summer 2023 to accommodate the beginning of the 2023-2024 academic year. A year after re-occupancy, energy-efficiency results and anecdotal observations confirm the success of the design decisions.
This existing West Campus residence hall is a six-story apartment-style building that includes residences and also houses classrooms with tiered seating. The building is located at 450 Parker Street, set between West Village H, Willis Hall, and West Village B.
The scope of work called for Kripper Studio to upgrade, enhance and re-imagine the 109,000 sqft of usable space within the building. The intention was to enhance the quality of the students’ experience and nurture a sense of community. In addition, achieving better energy efficiency for the building was a primary intention.
Adhering to his belief that the most sustainable building can be an existing building, architect Amir Kripper led a design team, which included Turner Construction as the general contractor, to enhance the existing structure and interiors. In addition to selecting energy saving appliances for the kitchens and energy saving LED lighting options for the approximate 1,180 light fixtures throughout the building, original pendant lights on the ground floor were easily retrofitted with new LED bulbs for greater energy efficiency.
Existing flooring in the hallways and dorms was removed and replaced with a durable and low VOC luxury vinyl tile with a wood-like finish, manufactured by Mohawk.
The University’s adherence to sustainability guided their decision to donate movable fixtures in good condition to a local non-profit for re-use. Other existing fixtures, like the reading nooks and certain furniture, were kept onsite to be re-used by the University, thus ensuring a maximum life-cycle use of manufactured products and reducing landfill waste.
“This was an opportunity to do something cool and interesting as Northeastern is committed to raising the bar,” explains Amir Kripper, founding principal of Kripper Studio. “The energy efficiency decisions were primary goals but equally important was the goal to enliven the spaces. Starting with the existing interior architecture, we designed visual cues to better navigate the building. We added fields of color. A complimentary palette of alternating colors on large expansive wall surfaces creates a wayfinding logic.
The visual cues are comprised of two main colors:
- Benjamin Moore’s Deep Ocean (2058-30)
- Benjamin Moore’s Calypso Orange (2015-30)
The complimenting colors are:
- Benjamin Moore’s Tranquil Blue (2051-50)
- Benjamin Moore’s Sweet Orange (2017-40)
Accenting these fields of color are floor-to-ceiling grey tack boards designed by Kripper Studio with stainless Schluter edge trim, which are functional and additional visual punctuations.
All remaining walls and ceilings throughout the dorm room suites and hallways were repainted with Benjamin Moore ‘Silver Satin’ Eggshell finish for the walls and Benjamin Moore ‘Ultra Spec 500 N536’ for the ceilings to adhere to standards throughout other buildings at Northeastern.
The original design of West Village by William Rawn Associations was immediately lauded with awards and accolades. Building A, as well as Buildings B and C, which opened in the fall 2000, won multiple architectural honors, including the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) Award for Design in 2001 and the Honor Award in 2002. In 2021, the buildings were again honored by The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and given the Honor Award for Architecture.
West Village E opened in 2002 and Buildings G and H followed two years later in September 2004. The BSA awarded the Harleston Parker Medal to Building H in 2005, which also became home to the College of Computer and Informational Science. That same year, the entire West Village master plan was awarded the AIA National Award in Regional and Urban Design.
The recent upgrades, enhancements and re-imagining by Kripper Studio achieves the usability and enjoyment of Northeastern University’s West Village G Student residences building for today’s needs.
