Dartmouth College – House Center Pilots
Honor Award // Excellence in Architectural Design, Commercial
Architect // Sasaki
GC // Engelberth Construction, Inc.
Structural Engineer // Engineering Ventures
MEP/Fire Protection/IT/AV // Rist-Frost-Shumway Engineering
Tensile Building // Sprung Structures
Jury Comments
There is something special going on here: All new buildings are both prototypes and final products: some work sell and other become models for improvement. These are actual prototypes: they are temporary and being assessed for success: physically, socially, as well as final locations for planning purposes. Each are full of experimental social options, functions and even materials and finishes.
Description
The House Center Pilots, part of Dartmouth’s new House System adopted in 2015, seek to create typologies that could unlock alternative patterns of student engagement. Sasaki engaged faculty, students, and staff to identify and address gaps in the social experience on campus. The Onion and the Cube offer alternative modes of student engagement as low-cost spatial and programming prototypes toward future, larger-scale implementation. Both Pilots are universally accessible—not a given on a campus dating back to the 1700s. They stand in explicit contrast to traditional campus buildings, welcoming diverse students who may not feel at home in conventional spaces. The Onion is eminently ephemeral. Inside, the plywood islands provide shelter within the high volume and can be removed or reused in the future. The Cube is inspired by modular structures; its interior partitioning is kept to a minimum so spaces can be constantly reconfigured and reappropriated.
