Project Spotlight: UH Midtown Atlanta, GA
Creating an upscale, urban and affordable living environment for Georgia Tech students was the challenge set forth in this project. The design approach was to develop synergy between exterior vernacular, landscape and interior design - where public spaces, inside or outside, felt integrated. Inside, an inspiring two-story community lounge was conceived where the articulation of the exterior carved out a tall, narrow volume of space. Outside, a central breezeway and large monumental stair provide quick access to street-level – providing outdoor community space as well as a controlled point for security. Featuring the raw concrete of the building structure in the interior materials palette was integral to the design strategy and crucial to maintaining the tight budget. The rawness was balanced with pattern, texture, bold color, and maximizing of natural light. Durable, high-quality finishes and furniture were incorporated to hold up over time and endure trends. The resulting spaces not only create social hubs, but encourage study, innovation and collaboration, and shape a unique sense of community among the student residents.
The amenity spaces include a leasing office, residential lobby, club room, fitness, sky lounge and multi-functional media room totaling 12,946 sf at a cost of $57.44/sf
Beyond providing a full scope of services for the project, from programming through construction administration, the design team collaborated closely with the architecture and landscape designers to create an inspiring and unified design for the interior amenity areas. The team evaluated the client’s basic amenity program, and found ways to enhance the program through design and functional flow that would best enrich the urban location, capitalize on skyline views, maximize indoor/outdoor access, and accentuate architectural features. Technical aspects addressed during the course of the project included meeting the structural and MEP code requirements of high-rise construction. Three-dimensional renderings and fly-through animations of each finished amenity space were provided for full project visualization and to provide critical pre-leasing marketing images for the client’s use. The full scope of work included a leasing office with adjacent residential lobby, an expansive two-story clubroom with gaming area on the mezzanine and media room and gaming/social space on the terrace-level, a large study center with communal work stations, private study rooms with conference and smart board technology, a fully equipped fitness room, a roof-top sky lounge and multi-function media room. The result is a modern Midtown Atlanta tower that redefines student living for Georgia Tech students.
uh midtown project team:
Developer: The Scion Group
General Contractor: DPR Construction
MEP Engineering: Jordan & Skala Engineers
Structural Engineering: Browder + LeGuizamon & Associates
Photographer: Kieran Reynolds