University Towers

At Texas Southern University, Lord Aeck Sargent teamed with HarrisonKornberg to combine LAS’ expertise for higher education student life projects with HKA’s local relationship with Texas Southern.

This project began as a new 800-bed undergraduate residence at the eastern end of the campus. During the course of early design phases, the University was negotiating a new multi-year agreement for food vending, and negotiations raised the possibility of additional funding for a new dining hall as part of the residence hall complex. At the end of design development, the University decided to halt the design process and study the feasibility of incorporating a 350-seat dining facility into the ground floor of the project. Within two months, the design team presented multiple options and the associated costs for each. The University chose the scheme with the dining facility at the heart of the ground floor, with the main entrance from the center of the courtyard.

The final design is a seven-story concrete structure featuring study and social spaces on each floor. Dining spaces are open for student use outside food service operating hours, with security screens separating the server and kitchen spaces.