The Horizon Village residence hall at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh houses a combination of suite-style and traditional-plus units, each for four students, configured in a five-story building. Additional apartments accommodate residence hall staff. One and two story lounges are located at the ends and the center of each floor near the elevators. The ground floor has large recreation spaces that can accommodate special events.
The project occupies a triangular site at the southern tip of the campus. The site is also central to other student residences, the recently-built student union, and the dining commons. This new building makes a strong statement about the quality of on-campus student life and UW Oshkosh’s commitment to building a more sustainable environment.
All dwelling units are in a double-loaded building block that follows the edge of the site’s eastern side. The building bends twice to maintain a consistent relationship with the street and to shorten what would otherwise be very long corridors. The western half of the site is reserved for a large recreation yard and offers a clear view of the student union’s impressive arched roof and two-story curtain wall when traveling to the campus from the south.
The north-south orientation brings direct daylight into each unit for several hours a day. Each unit has a large bay window in the living space, with varying types of glass for optimum light and restricted solar gain. The project features several other sustainable design elements, including green roofs and a geothermal well field under the semi-circular recreation lawn.
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