Five-story masonry residence hall receives LEED Gold certification

University of Wisconsin Oshkosh - Horizon Village

The University of Wisconsin challenged our team to capitalize on an opportunity in Oshkosh. The campus needed new student housing that would make a strong statement about UW Oshkosh’s commitment to the quality of residence life. The building would occupy the southern tip of the campus and establish a highly visible, progressive residence hall that would provide students with a model for sustainable living. 

Next to the student union and dining commons, the new 165,000-square-foot, 350-bed Horizon Village offers students the choice between two-bedroom and four-bedroom suite-style apartments. The building’s north and south ends feature two-story lounges, and the ground floor has well-equipped public spaces for study and recreation. Our design places all the units in a double-loaded building block. The building bends twice, to shorten corridors and to maintain a consistent relationship with the neighboring street.

The north-south orientation brings direct daylight into each unit every day. Each unit has a bay window with varying types of glass to admit optimum light and to restrict solar gain. Other sustainable design features include green roofs and a geothermal well-field located underneath an expansive semi-circular recreation yard.