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Is hospitality design's college campus rush close to dropping out?

BOOKMARK ARTICLE

It was only a few years ago that major operators were predicting college campus hospitality as the next big thing. But as the pipeline slows and student housing enters crisis mode, how can designers create truly student-centric spaces?

By most metrics, college campus hospitality should be a much more developed market. Dealing with a largely captive audience that, behind the essentials of rent and groceries, spends most of its money on going out, this demographic would normally be an operator’s dream. And for a while this looked to be the case, as brands like The Student Hotel and Graduate posted rapid growth through the 2010s. More recently, however, The Student Hotel has rebranded away from the student market, now calling itself the much broader ‘The Social Hub’, while the flurry of new projects from Graduate at the tail end of the decade has now slowed.

This drop off was partly due to the lingering disruption of COVID-19, as the previous orthodoxy of campus living became more flexible with the introduction of distance learning. Combined with ongoing student housing crises in countries like the UK and the Netherlands, a growing number of students are demanding more and better services, in line with quickly rising tuition fees. Suddenly the campus crowd is a much tougher, more discerning market to crack.

Nonetheless, it remains a highly attractive investment. Beyond established positioning as a testing ground for youth-focused concepts, college campuses continue to serve an entire constellation of conference circuit delegates, visiting parents, graduation ceremonies and society celebrations. But branding alone is no longer enough. To truly serve this market, designers will be required to come up with new spatial typologies that meet the unique demands of this guest profile.

Interactive innovations

This is not to say there has been a lack of innovation in the sector. The launch of Graduate and C3’s digital Food Hall concept in 2021 was a signal that the market was prepared to create spaces aligned specifically with student interests. Taking the form of a hybrid in-house dark kitchen, it addressed the desire for more flexible campus dining options while playing to the delivery-native sensibilities of its audience. Where the space might have been largely hidden away, it nonetheless demonstrated that new ideals of form and functionality would be required, as opposed to repackaging products that had already proved successful elsewhere.

Photos: Francis Dzikowski/OTTO

Cover and above: Robert A.M. Stern Architects' design for Yale's Schwarzman Centre social space offers multifunctional areas aimed at boosting interaction and engagement.

‘Today, students want spaces that support their health and wellbeing, high-quality food services, and – especially in the wake of the pandemic – places to study and gather as an academic community,’ says Melissa DelVecchio, partner and director of research at Robert A.M. Stern Architects, whose transformation of Yale’s Carrère and Hastings-designed Bicentennial buildings forms the new Schwarzman Centre social space. 'While we worked tirelessly to preserve the historic spaces of the Schwarzman Centre, we also updated it to be an entirely new kind of campus centre that engages undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff, alumni and the greater New Haven community through the performing arts. In addition to serving the usual function of a student centre as a hub for gathering and dining, nearly every space in the Schwarzman Centre can be used for performances, events, and lectures – large or small.’

With its celebrated neoclassical architecture preserved, and its interior outfitted with new casual dining and fluid social spaces in addition to the dynamic event and performance spaces, the Schwarzman Centre demonstrates that existing on-site structures can be suitably remodelled to serve a new generation of students. But for those institutions beyond the substantial donation pools of the Ivy League, it will predominantly fall to private entities to supply the demand. Indeed, new campus-based projects from Hilton and Kimpton are set to open in Houston and Virginia respectively this year. But beyond a scheme of school colours and some academic leather detailing, what do these offer in terms of design and functionality that truly serves students?

Designing for school spirit

2023 will prove a crucial year for the campus hospitality market, with classes back in session and students once again fighting for places. The unveiling of Hawkins/Brown and RPP Architects’ One Elmwood is already ahead of the curve. It brings together Queens University Belfast’s entire spectrum of non-faculty facilities under the remit of a hospitality hub complete with a student union, access to administrative services, flexible event spaces and one of the longest bars in the city. 

One Elmwood at Queens University Belfast encompasses the institution’s non-faculty facilities within a hospitality hub by Hawkins/Brown and RPP Architects.

‘One Elmwood consolidates a range of services into one location, so students can receive the help they need without fear of judgement – whether it’s financial or wellbeing support,’ explains the Hawkins\Brown team. Damien Toner, director of estates at Queen’s University Belfast, adds: ‘We wanted an accessible, open building capable of providing a one-stop shop for all our students’ needs. This new building has provided space for all student services, open-plan collaboration spaces, quieter study spots, areas for clubs and societies to operate and social venues for students to get together.’

Indeed, a closer union of administrative and hospitality spaces will be next step for this market. Beyond the convenience of placing dining options in close proximity to student support facilities, this all-in-one hub model seeks to restore student spirit and encourage a closer bond between student and college, following a period that saw the two drift apart. ‘In many ways, the important idea behind that Schwarzman Center was creating a structure that could draw the campus together through arts programming,’ DelVecchio adds. ‘In that context, I think it nods to the future of campus-based hospitality design through its focus on facilitating in-person gathering and the varied ways that can occur.’

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