Design Square Apartments is a 5 storey building in the heart of CCAD's downtown campus. . It is conceived as a progression of urban spaces from the most public to the most private. The most public of this progression of spaces are Design Square & the West Terrace. On the East, the building is sited on the property line and completes the enclosure of Design Square, enhancing it as the heart of CCAD's Campus. On the West, the space between the building and the alley has been raised to create a Terrace. The First floor of the building is recessed as a response to these outdoor spaces, exposing concrete wrapped structural columns that add interest at street level.
The choice of glass & concrete was a deliberate decision to continue the vocabulary of the Crane Design Center, which is the other prominent building on Design Square. The public spaces continue on the First floor with a Lobby, Media Room, Laundry, Fitness Center, Cafeteria & Convenience Store. The Second floor slab is at 16'-0" making these spaces generous & in keeping with their public use.
Floors Two through Five contain the Apartments and double storeyed hallways form the spine of these Floors. They are the next in this series of Public/ Private Spaces. There is a hallway each for Floors 2 & 3 and Floors 4 & 5 and are meant to function as interior streets. Recessed areas & bridges form social spaces to further activate these spaces so they are not merely circulation paths. Wall panels in the hallway provide "canvases" for the art students to display their work. And all of this is flooded with light from the curtain wall slots at both ends and the skylights on the roof for the upper hallway. There are 48 Four Bedroom apartments and 8 Two Bedroom apartments, for a total of 208 beds. Each unit has a shared Kitchennette, Dining Room, Living Room and individual bedrooms.
