Traditional college dormitory rooms are giving way to spacious, updated suites at Drake University, changing preconceived notions of on-campus living. Architectural firm FEH Associates and the university are teaming up to provide students amenities designed to make their life more comfortable and to give Drake a new recruitment tool.

“The trend in dormitory designs is to personalize them,” said Denny Sharp, FEH principal in charge of the Drake project. His company worked on Central College’s Graham Hall two years ago. “It’s important to give students the opportunity to decorate or arrange suites to fit their personalities.”

Drake hired FEH to conduct a study to update the Goodwin/Kirk Residence Hall complex. With the input of staff and students, school and FEH officials found a way to reconfigure Goodwin/Kirk to provide multiple housing options while working within the limitations of a dormitory that was built in the 1960s. What they came up with was a plan to convert blocks of three old rooms into two-, three- and four-bed suites as well as single, double and triple rooms.

The first wave of students moved in to their new rooms this fall. A four-phase plan to renovate the hall, to be completed in the fall of 2003, began last summer. The second phase, which will add several more suites, will be completed by the end of the year. The Weitz Co. has been secured as the project’s general contractor.

When completed, the entire 104,000-square-foot, $12 million project will house 540 upperclassmen in 140 new tenements, 111 of which will be suites. Freshmen who previously occupied the building have been relocated to another on-campus residence hall.

“Students want more flexibility and don’t want to share rooms after their first year,” said Jerry Price, Drake’s dean of students. “Privacy is a big issue. When visitors walk into a room, they’re not walking into a bedroom. With these rooms, one can get the sense that ‘If I need 15 minutes to myself and my roommates are there, I can still be myself.'”

The updated suites will offer several conveniences to Drake students. They will be able to control their own heating and cooling needs in each suite. Restrooms at each location have been expanded, and the cable television, phone and data systems have been updated. Each room’s bay window will be replaced with energy-efficient frames and glazing, and the mechanical and electrical systems will be replaced and updated. Also, an additional elevator has been installed to provide access to all floors and to help ease the burdens of moving.

Sharp said the majority of the suites will be four-bed, three-room suites consisting of two bedrooms and a living room. The suites will be about 750 square feet in size, compared with 200 square feet for prior rooms. Students will be responsible for furnishing their own appliances.

Price said the ability to offer students more comfortable and spacious living options is an important recruiting tool for the university.

“Competition for students is getting tougher among private schools so more of them are building apartment-like suites to attract students,” he said.

Sharp said approximately 20 percent of his firm’s work is on college campuses. He said schools are investing in their “areas of weakness,” including aging residence halls, to remain competitive in the collegiate marketplace.

“If you give students a good place to live, you’re much more likely to recruit them to your campus,” Sharp said.