The New School of Dorm Design Treats Students Like (Gasp!) Human Beings

Welcome to Roommates Week, an exploration of the highs and lows of cohabitation.

When 97-year-old billionaire Charlie Munger designed a windowless dorm for University of California, Santa Barbara, back in 2021, the uproar was immediate. (And, admittedly, hilarious—some called it the "UCSB prison experiment"; others compared it to their cruelest home designs in The Sims).

But really: Was Munger’s dystopian housing solution that far off from the typical college dorm?

Most traditional dormitory rooms aren’t what you’d call ‘inspiring’—think copy-and-pasted, characterless units that fit a bed, a desk, and a (hopefully tolerable) roommate. Perhaps poor Munger was just extrapolating from his own university experience?

With a global student housing shortage, it’s easy to see why schools may be tempted to slap together some barracks to meet demand. But the reality is that designing for quality, not quantity, is what sets students up for success. And a new wave of student housing does just that. These contemporary dorms in Berlin, in L.A., in Cambridge, and beyond are rooted in the belief that students are (surprise!) humans. And designing for humans means building spaces rife with natural light, airflow and—critically—community.

A Courtyard Dorm Designed for Connection

At Stephen Taylor Court, a King’s College Cambridge housing complex designed by UK-based Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, three crescent-shaped buildings enclose a courtyard—although unlike traditional gated yards, the intention here is inclusivity.

Designed with passive house principles, the dorm’s 60 rooms provide housing for students as well as teaching fellows, with single rooms as well as spaces for couples or families. The pricing varies by unit, too, to ensure a range of financial accessibility.

In many dorms, transition spaces like staircases and hallways are "engineered down," as Hugo Marrack, partner at FCB Studios, puts it. But here, these areas are celebrated. "We wanted them to be special places, that create a sense of arrival," says Marrack. "All these things are promoting collision between communities." The shared stairwells are sculptural and generous: the ideal spot to run into a neighbor and chat a while.

The rooms are clustered into groups of eight, and neighbors share a dining and kitchen space. "In the UK, groups of eight have become the common model. It’s not so big it can’t police itself, nor so small it becomes cliquey," says Marrack. "It’s the magic number."

These clusters are but one layer of the Stephen Taylor Court onion. Students have roommates (or live with family), their immediate neighbors, their cluster, and their building groups. "We put a lot of work into identifying those layers and making sure there’s a moment of shared connection and space for each," says Marrack. (One shared connection currently happening: residents are collaborating in a demand for decreased rent because of Wi-Fi and plumbing issues. Turns out that even great architecture can’t correct for technical difficulties.)

A Satellite Dorm Built to Be Part of the City

Stateside, there’s the Granville 1500 building, designed by L.A. firm Lorcan O’Herlihy Architects. Though the modernist, 153-unit apartment complex provides housing for UCLA students, it’s technically off-campus, on a stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard that previously had very little pedestrian activity. The vision for Granville 1500 is one of not a satellite dorm, but of a mixed-use, self-sustaining community: "an urban village," as Lorcan O’Herlihy, the firm’s principal, puts it.

Students live here, but the structure is also home to retail units and UCLA administrative offices. "Students need to be engaging with other people. It’s important not to isolate them, while still offering a sense of place and arrival," says O’Herlihy.

The architecture is fluid, and the building folds back to reveal generous sidewalks and garden beds of native plantings. (One student described the complex as "luxurious," and grad students cross their fingers hoping to snag a room.)

When he was an undergrad student at CalTech, O’Herlihy preferred living off campus. "I felt student housing just wasn’t very interesting," says the architect. The experience makes him ideally suited to create dorms that even urbanites will love. (In addition to Granville 1500, LOHA has a trio of other completed student housing projects and two more in the works.) "It’s an opportunity to live in a city, where they can walk and get their supplies and see the value of the place that they live, see that we’re all in this together."

A Customizable Shared Space, With Ties to History

Bard College Berlin approached New York–based Civilian to create two new buildings with housing and public spaces: the KW Residences. The goal was to foster a sense of community on campus while speaking to the rich history of the surrounding neighborhood.

"It’s a very unique institution with a fully residential campus within an urban environment—something that’s central to their philosophy as a liberal arts college, and also quite rare in Europe," says Nicko Elliott, principal of Civilian. The exteriors were designed in dialogue with the area’s neo-Bauhaus architecture, taking particular inspiration from German architect and urban planner Bruno Taut. The interiors, meanwhile, are adaptable and flexible, with a mix of lounge spaces that could work for individuals or group projects.

Much of the Scandinavian-minimalist furniture is built right in to the walls, and it’s designed to be is multifunctional, and easy to personalize. "A detail like a pull-out night table and built-in storage may seem relatively small, but it makes an enormous difference in the students’ day-to-day experience," says Elliott.

A Sprawling, School-Agnostic Mini City

Oz Architect was commissioned by American company Greystar to build Amsterdam’s OurDomain complex on a sprawling, million-square-foot lot, and the architecture firm brought a sense of place to the project from the get-go.

"We continually asked, what does the building give back to the city?" says John Bosch, partner at the firm. OurDomain is intended not to be a refuge for twenty-somethings, but a structure that enlivens and contributes to the surrounding neighborhood.

In Holland, most student housing buildings are school-agnostic: scholars from all sorts of institutions bunk together. Here at OurDomain, Oz also built two- and three-room suites for young professionals, to encourage a mix of tenants. (And mix they do: one resident enjoys hanging out with neighbors on the terrace, while another described the building as both "accessible" and "friendly.")

The large site also includes services like a supermarket, restaurant, and gym, all of which can be used not just by the building’s residents but by the surrounding neighborhood. And at the center of the three-building lot is a lush park, centered around a man-made creek. Students can be found studying here, or in the shared workspace inside. A social area is designed to host fans as they watch soccer games; a music room entices musicians to come together in song.

Shipping Container Housing Makes a Splash

Over in Copenhagen, Bjarke Ingels’ firm made a splash with its Urban Rigger project when it launched in 2016, but even years later, the concept still feels fresh. Here, shipping containers form 12 compact residences—a cost-effective solution intended to address the scarcity of affordable living spaces in the city.

"In many cities and towns, urban development is constrained by the lack of space," says Finn Nørkjær, partner at Bjarke Ingels Group. "Urban Rigger makes use of a huge, unexplored natural resource: water. At the same time, it brings new life to harbor areas by enhancing the waterfront with flexible, floating communities and attractive living space."

The durable, affordable, transportable containers offers a framework for a flexible and scalable housing typology that could potentially be replicated around the world.

Mads Rokkjær, a 26-year-old architecture student studying at the Royal Danish Academy, moved into Urban Rigger in January, and is eagerly looking forward to his first summer there. The water is clean enough that he can jump right into the water from his window, and he’s constantly bumping into neighbors in the courtyard, and on the rooftop terrace.

"I think these common spaces also make my own apartment seem larger than it actually is, because I can expand my activities to take place outside of my own private apartment," says Mads. (Of course, no housing is perfect: Living on a dock means rocky days, and big windows attract looky-loos.)

Treating Students as People

Creating architecturally significant student housing isn’t just a feather in a university’s cap. Study after study has shown that living environments have an indelible impact on student success and mental health. And each building (or repurposed shipping container) here offers not just a space for students to study, sleep, repeat, but to build community and find calm and comfort—something we’re all looking for, whether we’re pursuing a degree or not.

"There’s a risk of putting students in a particular group, but they’re humans with human needs," says Marrack. "What we try not to do is patronize them, or think of them as ‘the kids.’ They probably don’t want supergraphics and motivational messages. They don’t want spaces that are corporate and institutional. They want good daylight, and a warm environment, and connection."