Student Life
More than just a place, the student center adds significance to the college experience, stands for an institution’s commitment to its students, and can bring the best aspects of an institution to life and light.
As colleges and universities strive to attract a wider and more diverse range of high achieving students, the college union serves as the place where students experience different perspectives and diverse world views while developing themselves as part of a community. While providing a vital mix of essential services and resources, a successful student center embodies a home away from home where students feel like they matter, can be themselves, and develop a deeper connection to their institution. With a sense of openness, the student center is quite literally where community on campus takes place, fostering a sense of belonging in students as they build relationships, share experiences, and engage in meaningful interactions that prepare them to be thoughtful citizens.
At VMDO, student life projects have been a main focus of our higher education practice since our founding. Through conversations with students, faculty, and administrative leaders, we aim to find a coherent balance between a rich understanding of forward-looking trends in university center design, and an innovative approach that builds upon what is special and unique about each institution’s heritage and aspirations. We see the student center as a pivotal campus moment, where well crafted architecture can enrich the college experience, seamlessly integrate the social, cultural, and physical campus landscape, and grow to become part of its place, while being loved and lasting.
Recent Work
Young Harris College Rollins Campus Center + Miller Library
The 3.5-story glass, brick, and stone building creates a new hub of bustling activity, uniting social…
View ProjectTidewater Community College- Chesapeake Student Center
The Student Center is a focal point and gathering place for students, faculty and visitors at the College.…
View ProjectAverett University Student Center + Dining
The student center aims to attract more students to this former “commuter” campus by providing them…
View ProjectRecent Blog Posts
Young Harris Campus Center Wins 2017 ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence
Young Harris College’s Rollins Campus Center and Zell + Shirley Miller Library was recognized as one of five awardees of a Facility Design Award of Excellence…
View PostRollins Campus Center Transforms the Student Experience
The largest building constructed at Young Harris College, the Rollins Campus Center is often referred to as the social and intellectual heart of campus.
View PostNew Student Center wins ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence
”‹Tidewater Community College Chesapeake Campus’s Student Center received a 2016 ACUI Facility Design Award of Excellence.
View Post