Bornhuetter Residence Hall to be Dedicated Oct. 8

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September 27, 2004

Bornhuetter Residence Hall will be dedicated Oct. 8.

WOOSTER, Ohio - The College of Wooster's new Bornhuetter Residence Hall, which opened its doors to students this fall, will be formally dedicated on Friday, Oct. 8, beginning at 4:30 p.m. The program will include a ribbon-cutting ceremony by Ron and Carol Bornhuetter, whose generous gift to Wooster's Independent Minds Campaign made the project possible.

Designed by the architectural firm of Lewis.Tsurumaki.Lewis and built by Bogner Construction at a cost of $8.9 million, the spacious double-wing structure sits at the northwest corner of Wayne and Beall Avenues. It houses 184 students and features large rooms, wide hallways, and quiet study areas.

"The building was constructed with the needs of today's students in mind," said David Brown, director of residential life and housing at Wooster. "We have more shelf and storage space in each room because students bring more items to college than ever before."

Other in-room amenities include window seats, which afford students picturesque views of campus, and modular, multi-use furniture, which allows students to create natural lofts rather than having to construct their own and to configure the room in a number of different ways. There are also three separate light switches in each room - one in the entryway and one on each side of the room. This lets students enter at night without waking up a roommate, according to Brown.

One of the most unique aspects of the new residence hall is a series of study pods that jut out from each floor above the main entrance to the building. "Not only do these areas give the building a distinctive exterior look, but they also provide additional study space for students," said Brown. "These areas extend from each lounge, which gives students a chance to gather on their own floor, instead of having to meet somewhere else in the building."

In addition, there are kitchenettes on every floor and an attractive multi-purpose room on the lower level that accommodates 36 people and features a full kitchen as well as the latest interactive media technology. Also, unlike most residence halls, both the rooms and the hallways are carpeted, giving the facility the look and feel of a modern hotel.

"I think that's what I like best about the new building," said Jim Witter, a sophomore from Toledo. "It's fresh and new. There's plenty of space for everyone."

Considerable planning went into the project, including the construction of a model room in the College's service center, which gave students the opportunity to try out and critique the design. "It was an expensive experiment, but in the long run, it saved us money because our students were able to provide feedback before the dorm was built," said Brown. "We made several modifications based on their input, which prevented costly changes later in the construction process."

The addition of Bornhuetter Hall has had a significant impact on housing options across campus. "By providing attractive and spacious doubles in Bornhuetter, we were able to convert some of the smaller doubles in Bissman, Armington, and Stevenson into single rooms, which are also very attractive to students." said Brown.

Ironically, Bornhutter's most progressive attribute may be its traditional design, which goes against most of the current housing trends in higher education. "During the past 10 years or so, we have seen a movement toward more apartment and townhouse living arrangements," said Brown. "Our feeling was that, given our commitment to the residential living experience, we wanted a facility that would provide a sense of community. We also wanted a building that would add to the general housing options for students. Right now, we have a lot of program-oriented housing, which is great, but we wanted to offer more standard alternatives as well."

For those interested in a first-hand look at Bornhuetter, the College is offering a community open house on Sunday, Oct. 17, during which area residents can take a free tour of the facility from 2:30-4 p.m.