Commonwealth Architects, in association with S.B. Ballard Construction Company and prime architect Niles Bolton Associates, were part of the design-build team for the new West Grace Street Housing North Residence Hall at Virginia Commonwealth University. The five-story building added 388 beds in a mix of apartments and efficiency units.
The University sought an aesthetic that expresses VCU’s entrepreneurial culture and urban location, seamlessly blending contemporary and traditional elements. The design combines apartment and efficiency units with an international education center that can be easily reconfigured. The material selection—smooth and louvered metal panels, brick, cast stone, store-front glass— reflects an updated sense of permanence and durability. This project achieved LEED Silver certification.
