Design for coastal student living

Palm Beach Atlantic University Student Housing

Few students can say their college or university living quarters are beach-side, but this is a reality for students at Palm Beach Atlantic University. Many students want to live on campus because it’s prime real estate, but existing housing was lacking, aging, and students couldn’t afford to live there.

Through a public-private partnership (P3), the University chose us and Hedrick Brothers Development as the design/build team to deliver a new gateway campus building and opportunity for student living. For interiors, we looked at companies like Spaces, WeWork, and Venture X for inspiration to integrate co-working trends. We tried to push the envelope on the vernacular aesthetic of South Florida by introducing darker interior colors accentuated with bright pops. This approach promotes a hospitality feel to recruit and retain students to on-campus living. Executing full furniture, fixture, and equipment services included visioning, product selection, finishes, and install coordination.

The university had in-depth representation throughout design—an experience unique to P3. This added value, allowing us to understand more of what they envisioned for their campus and help shape the hospitality-style feel to their housing.