HMFH Architects Completes Conceptual Design Study
for New Student Housing at Bard College

New student residences and learning center foster an integrated living and learning lifestyle

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – June 25, 2012 – HMFH Architects, an architecture firm focused on the design of student learning and living environments, announced today it has completed a conceptual design for new student housing and an adjacent 24-hour study center at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. HMFH was selected for its extensive experience with planning and programming for student campus environments, and has created a design that provides a supportive overlap between the academic and residential experience for students.

The design for Bard’s North Campus includes concepts for four 50-student residential houses and a 24-hour learning center with a café, study rooms of various sizes, and technology resources.

In the new student houses, a community kitchen is located at the ground level of each house to foster student interaction. The residential floors feature a mix of traditional-style rooms for underclassmen and suite-style housing for upperclassmen. With a variety of housing options and the integration of the study center into the living environment, the new houses will foster a community that mentors younger students and offers a sense of independence for older students.

In addition, HMFH has created a 24-hour study center, which becomes the gateway to the North Campus and provides a central place for students to congregate. Before, the North Campus did not have a central place to support student academic life.  With its café, technology resources and variety of seating and meeting space, the new study center anchors the North Campus with an academic and food component, creating a more holistically complete atmosphere for living and learning. Through the addition of four new residential houses and the 24-hour study center, HMFH has taken a campus area with isolated housing options and created a new neighborhood for Bard students.  Additionally, the new buildings were designed to tie in with the existing campus architecture to create a coherent yet updated campus.

“The design is beautiful. It’s so simple and elegant and functional all at the same time. Your design makes me want to see it built and, needless to say, we’re thrilled,” said Coleen Murphy Alexander, assistant vice president for administration at Bard College.

Founded in 1860, Bard is a four-year residential college of the liberal arts and sciences that serves approximately 1,600 undergraduate students. The fusion of two historic estates in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, Bard’s park-like campus covers more than 500 acres of fields and forested land bordering the Hudson River.

About HMFH Architects
Since 1969, HMFH Architects, Inc. has built opportunities for learning on a local, regional and national level. With its distinguished range of award-winning work from renovated urban buildings to new rural campuses, HMFH is recognized as a leader in the design of innovative academic environments. HMFH's work, noted for its user-centered design and energetic use of color, has been exhibited nationally.  For more information, please visit www.hmfh.com.

Media Contact:
Susan Shelby, FSMPS, CPSM
Rhino Public Relations
(978) 985-4541
hmfh@rhinopr.com

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