Solomon Cordwell Buenz designed the essential Dundee Residence Hall providing more lodging and community to the University of California Riverside in Riverside, California.

Dundee Residence Hall is the first of several large-scale projects adding residential capacity and transforming the campus experience at UC Riverside. Located adjacent to the campus’ original residence halls, Aberdeen-Inverness (A&I), the 820-bed Dundee Residence Hall complements the geometry of A&I, utilizing two, L-shaped seven-story buildings to form a shared outdoor courtyard. The buildings are carefully sited with respect to natural sightlines and campus connections, with student lounges on the upper floors strategically positioned as “lanterns,” guiding residents into the community and offering unparalleled views to the mountains and campus.

Inspired by the strong, and purposeful, relationship of the built environment to the natural environment at UCR, the design team focused on creating complementary indoor and outdoor spaces that can accommodate a range of social activities and informal learning as well. The courtyard serves as the “living room” of the community, offering a variety of recreational activities and gathering areas, as well as smaller, more contemplative spaces, amidst a beautiful landscape of native plantings.

Ground floor amenities surround the courtyard and are a blend of learning-focused spaces, including three seminar classrooms, a large multi-purpose room, as well as more social spaces such as a large resident lounge with a stage, music practice studios, and a gaming lounge, to name a few. Dundee Residence Hall is LEED Gold.

Design: Solomon Cordwell Buenz
Contractor: Benchmark Contractors
Photography: Cesar Rubio