Prospect Plaza is a 4.5-acre redevelopment providing 5-star, off-campus housing to Colorado State University’s (CSU) students with the focus on creating a thriving community.
Intended to provide a vibrant living environment for students with upscale amenities and a modern feel, the design embodies local materials, celebrates social spaces, promotes a sense of safety, and prioritizes pedestrian experiences.
The site offers close proximity to campus connecting with CSU’s academic spine along Lake Street. While not a determined part of campus, the adjacency provides students with the opportunity to live at the “door step” of where they learn without being in a dormitory setting.
Creating a thriving community
The building design opens up the first level to encourage a more pedestrian-friendly experience along Lake Street frontage. This intentional transparency welcomes pedestrians, cyclists, and visitors into a semi-public courtyard space that presents itself as the “front porch” of the development. While visually welcoming, the site also responds to critical flood control with the elevated design to hold water during heavy rain events.
The south-facing courtyards allow for the building’s corners to be opened up with large amounts of transparency to showcase common lounge spaces that act as “lighted candles” to signal a sense of arrival to the southern edge of CSU’s Campus. These “lighted candle” elements, repeated at many of the building corners throughout campus, offer a sense of belonging, safety and warmth, while acting as a natural lantern for students traveling throughout.
Project Summary
Services Provided
- Visioning
- Architectural
- Interior Design
- Construction Documents
- Construction Administration
Characteristics
- 4.5-acre redevelopment
- Off-campus housing to meet demand of upper-class students
- Provides a vibrant living environment with upscale amenities and a modern feel
- Embodies local materials
- Pedestrian-friendly
- Celebrates social spaces with semi-public courtyard welcoming pedestrians, cyclists, and visitors
- Covered waiting area at bus stop along Lake Street
- “Lighted Candle” design signals sense of arrival and provides transparency showcasing activity inside the building
- Roof line intentionally helps break up scale and gives a subtle nod back to a residential aesthetic responding to the neighborhood context
