News Releases 2010

Design Collaborative To Design New LETU Residence Hall

Tue, Feb 2 2010

Design Collaborative, a Fort Wayne, Indiana architecture, engineering and interior design firm, has begun design for new student housing at LeTourneau University (LETU), located in Longview, Texas. Plans call for phased construction of a residential housing complex to accommodate 600 to 675 students to meet demands based on enrollment growth. Phase I includes a 200-bed residence hall that is scheduled for completion in June 2011.

“We selected DC based on its impressive experience, the quality of the company’s work, the strength and breadth of its team and the fact that residence halls are one of its core competencies,” said Dr. Bill McDowell, Executive Vice President for Business and Administration at LETU.

“We are currently completing the schematic design phase in which we determine site location, size, shape, function, exterior elevation and interior space allocation,” McDowell said. He also said the new residence hall will be the largest residence hall on campus, and it will be located on the southeast corner, across from the university’s new dining hall, the Corner Café.

The style and floor plans are expected to be consistent, but not identical to the other residence buildings, such as Gilbert Hall (opened in 1998), Thomas Hall (2002) and Davis Hall (2005). The new residence hall will have security enhancements with separate wings and/or floors of the building for either male students or female students, to adjust as enrollment needs require.

Currently, LETU residence halls are at 93 percent capacity and with new programs, including civil engineering, air traffic control and others planned, the space will be needed by the time the new residence hall opens in two years. A local construction firm, Transet Company, will serve as construction manager on the new residence hall. Transet also built the S.E. Belcher Jr. Chapel and Performance Center and the university’s last two residence halls.

LeTourneau University is consistently ranked in the top tier of “America’s Best Colleges” by U.S. News and World Report. LETU is an interdenominational Christian university of nearly 3,400 students with academic majors in the aeronautical sciences, business, education, engineering, the humanities and sciences. One of the premier engineering schools in the country, LETU’s aviation school was recently named top collegiate aviation program in the nation when it was awarded the Loening Trophy. LeTourneau University is located in Longview, Texas, but also offers undergraduate programs in business, education, and psychology and graduate programs in business and education at education centers in Austin, Bedford, Dallas, Houston, Tyler and online. Claiming every workplace in every nation as its mission field, LeTourneau University graduates are professionals of ingenuity and Christ-like character who see life's work as a holy calling with eternal impact.

Design Collaborative has provided design services for student housing to several colleges and universities, including: Indiana Wesleyan University, Taylor University, University of Saint Francis, Trine University, Bethel College, Goshen College, Defiance College, Andrews University, and Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne.

 

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