Washington State University - Northside Residence Hall Phase 1

Work

WSU Northside Residence Hall Phase 1

Northside hall is the epitome of what we are striving to provide, with amenities and community space that will attract and retain students to live on campus.”

Terry Boston, Assistant Vice President for WSU’s Administrative Service

Setting the Mark for the Future of Residence Halls: Engineering a LEED® certified student living space for Washington State University

DCI Engineers provided the structural engineering design for this five-story residence hall located on the Washington State University campus in Pullman, Washington. Designed to house 300 students, this residence hall features a variety of dormitory room styles and public space amenities that encourage student community development. This residence hall was constructed around a central courtyard, creating a C-Shaped structure of reinforced concrete and wood framing. Project amentities include a two-story recreation lounge and living room, kitchens and laundry rooms on each floor, and a series of study lounges throughout the building. Northside also offers students the choice of one and two-bedroom units as well as two and four bedroom suites, and provides residents with outdoor balcony space and glass-enclosed common space.

Location:

Pullman, Washington

Square Feet:

100,000

Stories:

Service:

Structural

Industries:

Higher Education

Primary Material:

Concrete, Steel, Wood

WSU Northside Residence Hall_B WSU 22028229 sm

WSU Northside Residence Hall_ A WSU 12028229 sm

WSU Northside Residence Hall_E WSU 52028229 sm

Project Highlights

The structural framing system was comprised of four levels of wood framing over one level of concrete to separate lobby and common space on the first floor from the upper residential levels; cold-formed steel walls around the exterior of the building were required for the support of full-height masonry veneer, and structural steel was utilized at the entrance lobby to accomplish the large open space.
At the wood framed levels, corridor and exterior walls were used for bearing, and the use of interior shear walls between rooms was limited to the minimum amount possible to provide future flexibility in how rooms could be configured.
Footings and foundations had to be designed to miss, and in some cases bridge, the campus steam tunnel that extends directly under the building.