University Record: "Wolverine Village reimagines living and learning at U-M" (pics included) . . .
Wolverine Village reimagines living and learning at U-M
2,300 new beds boost housing capacity 25%, guarantees Central Campus space for first-year students
Byline: By Genevieve Monsma / The University Record
The University of Michigan will add 2,300 student beds to Central Campus this month with the opening of Wolverine Village, a new residential community developed around the idea that where students live impacts how well they connect, study and succeed on campus.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the new complex, which includes five residence halls and a dining hall, is that it was shaped directly by students.
PIC CAPTION: Wolverine Village is comprised of five residence halls that share a dining hall and other common spaces. (Photo by Christina Merrill for Michigan Photography)
More than 2,600 undergraduates contributed to the planning through surveys, town halls and design sessions on everything from room layouts to dining and gathering spaces. Even the name — Wolverine Village — came from student input.
community tours
Michigan Housing will offer daily tours of Wolverine Village beginning Sept. 2. The tours will highlight the residence halls, gathering spaces, and artwork. Tour capacity is limited, and registration is required.
“Wolverine Village is the direct result of listening to our students,” said Martino Harmon, vice president for student life. “Every space was designed to foster community, support learning, and keep student success front and center.”
Wolverine Village is the first U-M housing built specifically for first-year students since Oxford Houses opened in 1963, addressing a longstanding shortage of undergraduate housing on Central Campus.
The 2,300 additional beds increase U-M’s undergraduate housing capacity by about 25%, meaning every first-year student who applies for university housing by the spring deadline can live on Central Campus if they choose. The expansion also creates more affordable opportunities for returning and transfer students to live in university housing.
Early move-in is scheduled for Aug. 22-23, followed by general move-in Aug. 24-30.
PIC CAPTION: The laundry room in Harper Hall is decorated in shades of mint and purple. For the first time, laundry service is covered by the student room rate so no coins or credit cards will be needed to operate the machines.
PIC CAPTION: Student feedback informed the development of shared study spaces, like this one in Harper Hall, where students can study alone but in the company of others.
PIC CAPTION: There is covered bicycle parking on the western side of the complex.
Incorporating student input
The residence halls range from five to seven stories and include doubles, singles and suites, as well as a new “tripleable double,” a larger double that can be converted to accommodate three students if needed to meet demand.
Based on the student feedback, the halls boast abundant natural light, a mix of individual and collaborative study areas, flexible community spaces, varied dining options and visible sustainability features.
Some of those features are firsts for U-M. Wolverine Village is the first housing facility to combine geo-exchange heating and cooling, solar panels and an all-electric dining hall. It is also the first undergraduate residence hall to offer covered bicycle parking, a bicycle repair room, and a rooftop courtyard.
Other firsts include a designated pet relief area for residents with support animals and a centralized package room in Building 3 where students can retrieve packages from lockers 24/7.
Laundry rooms are also located in each residence hall, and machine use is now included in the student room rate, so no coins or credit cards will be required.
Honoring a U-M difference maker
Buildings 1-4 are currently unnamed, but Building 5 carries a name with significance: Dr. E. Royster Harper Hall.
The residence hall honors Harper, vice president emerita for student life, who played a key role in expanding and renovating U-M’s residence hall system and advancing efforts related to inclusivity and student well-being. It is the first building on the U-M campus named for a Black woman.
“Dr. Harper was a transformative force for countless students during her four decades of leadership,” Harmon said. “Naming Harper Hall in her honor celebrates that legacy and reinforces just how vital a sense of belonging is to student success.”
Harper Hall will also be home to Bridge Scholars Plus, a yearlong living-learning community for first-year students who participated in the Summer Bridge Scholars Program.
PIC CAPTION: Wolverine Village boasts a double-height dining room reminiscent of Hogwarts’ Great Hall in the Harry Potter series. (Photo by Christina Merrill for Michigan Photography)
Dining designed for broad dietary needs
Building 1 houses an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall with more than 800 seats, double-height windows, and a living green wall designed to bring a piece of the outdoors inside year-round.
The dining hall will typically be open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m., and its food stations were designed with flexibility in mind.
“We have woks, we have flat-top grills, we have chargrills, we have ovens,” said Steve Giardini, senior director of Michigan Dining.
That equipment, he said, allows the staff to prepare a wide range of cuisines, as well as meals free of gluten and the nine major food allergens.
On the second floor are private dining and event rooms, a rooftop courtyard and a teaching kitchen developed through a partnership between Michigan Dining and LSA.
The new dining hall is also the first all-electric culinary space on campus.
“If you look at the history of Michigan Dining, we have a long history of leading the campus in sustainability initiatives, and moving from natural gas to electricity is something we’ve wanted to do for the environment,” Giardini said.
PIC CAPTION: A core theme of Harper Hall’s Origins Multicultural Engagement Space is that the sky’s the limit for every student. Formations, a sweeping mural depicting the sky, extends across the space’s walls to bring that theme to life.
PIC CAPTION: The lobby of Building 3 boasts an energetic color palette.
PIC CAPTION: Common spaces in Wolverine Village are decorated with original artwork. Most of the pieces come from regional artists or artists with a connection to U-M.
Link: https://record.umich.edu/articles/wolverine-village-is-a-new-model-for-living-and-learning-on-campus/
2,300 new beds boost housing capacity 25%, guarantees Central Campus space for first-year students
Byline: By Genevieve Monsma / The University Record
The University of Michigan will add 2,300 student beds to Central Campus this month with the opening of Wolverine Village, a new residential community developed around the idea that where students live impacts how well they connect, study and succeed on campus.
One of the most distinguishing characteristics of the new complex, which includes five residence halls and a dining hall, is that it was shaped directly by students.
PIC CAPTION: Wolverine Village is comprised of five residence halls that share a dining hall and other common spaces. (Photo by Christina Merrill for Michigan Photography)
More than 2,600 undergraduates contributed to the planning through surveys, town halls and design sessions on everything from room layouts to dining and gathering spaces. Even the name — Wolverine Village — came from student input.
community tours
Michigan Housing will offer daily tours of Wolverine Village beginning Sept. 2. The tours will highlight the residence halls, gathering spaces, and artwork. Tour capacity is limited, and registration is required.
“Wolverine Village is the direct result of listening to our students,” said Martino Harmon, vice president for student life. “Every space was designed to foster community, support learning, and keep student success front and center.”
Wolverine Village is the first U-M housing built specifically for first-year students since Oxford Houses opened in 1963, addressing a longstanding shortage of undergraduate housing on Central Campus.
The 2,300 additional beds increase U-M’s undergraduate housing capacity by about 25%, meaning every first-year student who applies for university housing by the spring deadline can live on Central Campus if they choose. The expansion also creates more affordable opportunities for returning and transfer students to live in university housing.
Early move-in is scheduled for Aug. 22-23, followed by general move-in Aug. 24-30.
PIC CAPTION: The laundry room in Harper Hall is decorated in shades of mint and purple. For the first time, laundry service is covered by the student room rate so no coins or credit cards will be needed to operate the machines.
PIC CAPTION: Student feedback informed the development of shared study spaces, like this one in Harper Hall, where students can study alone but in the company of others.
PIC CAPTION: There is covered bicycle parking on the western side of the complex.
Incorporating student input
The residence halls range from five to seven stories and include doubles, singles and suites, as well as a new “tripleable double,” a larger double that can be converted to accommodate three students if needed to meet demand.
Based on the student feedback, the halls boast abundant natural light, a mix of individual and collaborative study areas, flexible community spaces, varied dining options and visible sustainability features.
Some of those features are firsts for U-M. Wolverine Village is the first housing facility to combine geo-exchange heating and cooling, solar panels and an all-electric dining hall. It is also the first undergraduate residence hall to offer covered bicycle parking, a bicycle repair room, and a rooftop courtyard.
Other firsts include a designated pet relief area for residents with support animals and a centralized package room in Building 3 where students can retrieve packages from lockers 24/7.
Laundry rooms are also located in each residence hall, and machine use is now included in the student room rate, so no coins or credit cards will be required.
Honoring a U-M difference maker
Buildings 1-4 are currently unnamed, but Building 5 carries a name with significance: Dr. E. Royster Harper Hall.
The residence hall honors Harper, vice president emerita for student life, who played a key role in expanding and renovating U-M’s residence hall system and advancing efforts related to inclusivity and student well-being. It is the first building on the U-M campus named for a Black woman.
“Dr. Harper was a transformative force for countless students during her four decades of leadership,” Harmon said. “Naming Harper Hall in her honor celebrates that legacy and reinforces just how vital a sense of belonging is to student success.”
Harper Hall will also be home to Bridge Scholars Plus, a yearlong living-learning community for first-year students who participated in the Summer Bridge Scholars Program.
PIC CAPTION: Wolverine Village boasts a double-height dining room reminiscent of Hogwarts’ Great Hall in the Harry Potter series. (Photo by Christina Merrill for Michigan Photography)
Dining designed for broad dietary needs
Building 1 houses an all-you-care-to-eat dining hall with more than 800 seats, double-height windows, and a living green wall designed to bring a piece of the outdoors inside year-round.
The dining hall will typically be open from 7 a.m.-9 p.m., and its food stations were designed with flexibility in mind.
“We have woks, we have flat-top grills, we have chargrills, we have ovens,” said Steve Giardini, senior director of Michigan Dining.
That equipment, he said, allows the staff to prepare a wide range of cuisines, as well as meals free of gluten and the nine major food allergens.
On the second floor are private dining and event rooms, a rooftop courtyard and a teaching kitchen developed through a partnership between Michigan Dining and LSA.
The new dining hall is also the first all-electric culinary space on campus.
“If you look at the history of Michigan Dining, we have a long history of leading the campus in sustainability initiatives, and moving from natural gas to electricity is something we’ve wanted to do for the environment,” Giardini said.
PIC CAPTION: A core theme of Harper Hall’s Origins Multicultural Engagement Space is that the sky’s the limit for every student. Formations, a sweeping mural depicting the sky, extends across the space’s walls to bring that theme to life.
PIC CAPTION: The lobby of Building 3 boasts an energetic color palette.
PIC CAPTION: Common spaces in Wolverine Village are decorated with original artwork. Most of the pieces come from regional artists or artists with a connection to U-M.
Link: https://record.umich.edu/articles/wolverine-village-is-a-new-model-for-living-and-learning-on-campus/
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- University Record: "Wolverine Village reimagines living and learning at U-M" (pics included) . . .