To accommodate growth of Chadron State College, the administration desired a new student housing option, the first since the 1960s. A parcel of grassland east of campus is master planned as a student-housing neighborhood complete with outdoor amenities and a community building to support indoor activities. In contrast to most residence halls that house hundreds of students, Eagle Ridge is home to only 23 students per building to support communal living and the development of social soft skills. The housing units are set close together, creating common areas to help foster relationships between students and the community. Pathways meander between the buildings connecting the houses to the larger campus network while also creating fire breaks to safeguard the property.

Jury Comments: This innovative housing prototype uses groupings of smaller residential building to define strong outdoor spaces that build new community housing for students. The project draws on elements from the local vernacular and distills them into essential architectonic elements of plinth, shroud and porch and reimagines how they can contribute positively to the student’s daily lives. The jury appreciated the clever use of inexpensive materials, skillfully detailed to create visual beacons in the landscape.