Faraday Hall

Redefining Student Living: Innovative Design, Sustainable Features, and Swift Construction Shape a 259-bed Campus Hub for Excellence

The Faraday Residence Hall project is an 89,000 sf building on the lower campus of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. The student residence has 259 beds arranged in suites consisting of four beds per suite. Each suite contains a full kitchen with stove, sink, refrigerator and counter space to allow meal preparation.

The building also has amenities such as a large meeting room, tech suites, a laundry room, private parking, a large courtyard area, and main lobby with lounge space and billiards.

The residence skin is red brick, which was required by the City of Worcester to fit with the industrial heritage of the area. On one side of the building colorful metal panels are arranged to resemble a circuit board, a nod to the work of British scientist Michael Faraday, after whom the building is named. The dormitory is built to national LEED specifications to make the most of natural light and to conserve energy and water.

The $35 million building was conceived, designed, permitted, built and ready for occupancy in 14 months. The project is LEED® certified to the Silver level.

Project Highlights

• Full utilization of BIM from the outset of the design phase for coordination and clash detection was instrumental in allowing the project to remain on schedule.
• The project team used Revit and NavisWorks to model and coordinate the building’s structural and mechanical systems.
• The entire project was designed and built around student safety. Windows at hallway ends allow light into all dead end spaces. Tech suites have all glass enclosures so that the common areas are open to view, but can be closed off for study. A laundry room with a glass exterior wall and glass interior wall enhances student’s safety. All doors throughout the building are card-access controlled and the building’s perimeter is monitored by video cameras and WPI security.