Housing the Mean Green Becomes a Victory for All

By Chuck Nixon

Chuck Nixon, AIA, is principal, vice president, facilities division, Carter & Burgess, Fort Worth

When swelling enrollment stretched the demand for on-campus housing at the University of North Texas in Denton, its administration set an ambitious goal of opening the new 600-bed Victory Hall within 18 months.

After evaluating more than 20 candidates, the university selected Carter & Burgess to serve as the prime architect/engineer along with design partner Architecture Demarest of Dallas, a firm with experience in designing facilities for more than 50,000 student beds nationwide.

From the onset, the new design team committed to an aggressive five-month schedule allowing for a guaranteed-maximum-price construction-manager-at-risk process and 13-month construction duration.

Access to senior university administrators allowed the architects to start certain parts of the project before other parts were fully designed. This was instrumental in meeting the demanding schedule. While Architecture Demarest was tweaking with the room's exact dimensions, for example, mechanical and electrical engineers from Carter & Burgess were given the approved final building layout so they could begin their design.

The University of North Texas in Denton project proves that sleek, modern facilities don't have to break the budget of public institutions.

The team didn't have the luxury of time for the linear process so; the integration of A/E disciplines helped the team meet the tight deadline.

The Carter & Burgess/Architecture Demarest team began the design process by looking at all the systems to determine how to get the project to budget, including simplifying the overall design where possible without sacrificing function and programmatic goals.

The new structural system and resulting changes to the foundation resulted in a savings of almost $2 million over a conventional structure and four to six weeks off the schedule. The system also features a long lifespan, which is favored by public education institutions. A conventional concrete structure was replaced by a panelized steel-studded wall and floor system, which used framing units much like residential wood walls. The system panels consisted of light-gauge metal studs placed two ft. apart from each other, and layered with a corrugated metal deck and poured concrete.

Time and cost efficiencies were further realized because the steel wall panels were manufactured off site and then erected.

The new structural system and resulting changes to the foundation shaved almost $2 million and four to six weeks off the schedule. The system also features a long lifespan, which is favored by public education institutions.

Another way the Carter & Burgess/Architecture Demarest team reduced costs early in the design process was to use one signature tower in lieu of two as originally conceived and using a fiber cement siding in lieu of brick on interior courtyard walls.

Design revisions carved $4 million from the total construction cost, and the team's close collaboration with the university administration allowed the project to be constructed within 10 months, meeting the August 2004 opening date.

Victory Hall provides the modernity that appeals to students while providing an affordable product desired by the public higher-education community. Its two U-shaped limestone and brick buildings are three and four stories tall, have access to two courtyards and are topped with a green composition roof to symbolize the university's "Mean Green" athletic team motto. A 12,000-sq.-ft. community space with a cyber café, audio/visual room and an indoor recreation/ lobby/reception area connects the buildings. The students affectionately refer to this area as "the terminal."

As a model of the university's pride, it also serves as a recruitment tool as the university seeks to expand enrollment and attract student athletes.