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The Apartment: Campus Living for Today's Students
by Judy Petree

Remember what dorm room living was like 10, 20, 30 years ago—small, cramped rooms that you shared with a roommate (or two!), setting your alarm clock an hour earlier than everyone else on the floor so you didn't have to wait in line to use the shower, and eating every meal in the school cafeteria? While you still may see the last remains of the old dorm room style of living, it is more likely you will see a new style of residence life on college campuses. Like the legendary phoenix, student housing is rising fresh and young from the ashes of its former self. Resident living on college campuses is evolving to meet the changing life styles of today's students, and Augsburg College is at the cutting edge of this rebirth.

The idea to build a new type of housing at Augsburg in order to attract and retain students actually began back in 1972–73 with the construction of Mortensen Hall. Students were involved from the planning stage on and said they did not want dormitory rooms. Rather, they wanted apartment-style living, where they could be more independent. The building, a 15-story high rise, has 13 residential floors, each with four one-bedroom and four two-bedroom apartments—a total of 104 apartments housing 312 students.

Kari (Eklund) Logan, a 1982 graduate, said that one of the reasons she chose to attend Augsburg was in part because of Mortensen. "There were no other private colleges at that time with on-campus apartments," Logan said.

In 1993, Augsburg went a step further with the construction of Anderson Hall, which contains one-person suites; four-person apartments; eight-person, two-story townhouses; and 15-person floorhouses, which allow students in various interest groups or academic majors to live together.

Now, Augsburg has gone yet another step with the opening two years ago of New Hall (not yet named). This housing complex offers students state-of-the-art heating and air conditioning, plus full security. It features bay windows, nine-foot ceilings, kitchens, and underground parking. The building is fully wired throughout for present and anticipated needs in computer technology. Some apartments even come furnished.

David Graham, principal partner of Elness Swenson Graham Architects, Inc., and a national expert on trends in student housing, is one of the designers of this new hall. He said that neighbors living nearby like the idea of a residential building defining the edges of campus.

New Hall was placed at the campus edge to give a feeling of off-campus living, yet still be close enough so students can participate in academic and extracurricular activities and part-time jobs. They have the option to sign full-year leases, making them true residents of the neighborhood. The physical look for the neighborhood was kept in mind when choosing the building materials, which include residentially scaled elements, such as brick, stucco, and architectural metal.

Elness Swenson Graham (ESG) Architects are also responsible for the renovation of Sverdrup Hall, design of the new Paulson Atrium-Link, and the updating of the Augsburg Campus Master Plan, of which housing is a key part.

ESG's goal is to develop student housing that focuses on creating an academic village and urban diversity, the strengths of the College. "We've been tracking Augsburg College for six to seven years, and Augsburg has consistently been exploring how to get more juniors and seniors to stay on campus," Graham said. "The goal has been to increase this number and continue creating a high quality of life to make the campus a living/learning village.

"It's a unique experience to come to school and at the same time have access to all the amenities the cities have to offer," Graham continued. "Augsburg uses the Twin Cities as a classroom and an extension of its academic programs."

He said they have been researching national trends in student housing and Augsburg is at the leading edge. Research proves that when a student lives on campus all four years, they participate more in extracurricular activities, develop more lasting friendships with classmates, consistently earn higher grades, and are more likely to complete their degrees successfully. Older students become mentors to underclassmen, which ultimately improves the over-all college experience.

Obviously, this plan has worked at Augsburg. Ann Klamer, director of residence life, said that about 50 to 60 percent of Augsburg's day population now lives on campus, leading to a 16 percent higher retention rate, partly due to the addition of New Hall.

For Klamer, the value in residential living lies in the opportunities for students to study, play, worship, and grow together. Augsburg Seminar, the freshman orientation program, bases its academic and extracurricular experiences for freshmen around the floor groups in Urness Hall.

Tim Elness, Elness Swenson Graham's director of development and a 1989 Augsburg graduate, who was involved in the planning of New Hall, said that being an alum has enabled him to bring an insider¹s perspective into the project.

"We wanted to increase a sense of place and encourage the junior and senior students to stay on campus," Elness said. "However, we don't want to do away with the freshman experience of dorm life. That experience creates a collegiate atmosphere."

Elness lived on campus when the "houses" were still a part of the living experience. For more than three decades, upperclass students could choose to live in a number of residential houses on streets surrounding the campus. Many of the fondest alumni memories and lifelong friendships developed as students who lived together in the houses.

Concerns for safety and cost of maintenance were the major factors that led to a phasing out of house living as new residence halls were built. Many of the houses have since been razed to make way for new College buildings."The houses worked well because they were pliable, and that is how the new hall works," said Elness.

—Judy Petree is media relations manager.