University of South Florida Osprey Suites
Osprey Suites is a new 375-bed residence hall located at the University of South Florida’s St. Petersburg campus. The project features student housing, dining, public lounges, and additional flexible spaces that provide opportunities for spontaneous student interaction and collaboration.
The 7-story residence hall is composed of an insulated precast concrete superstructure with thin brick veneer, and sandblasted integral-color concrete with both opaque and transparent stains. Explorations of texture, aperture, and scale within a three-inch material indentation limit were key in creating a varied façade that addresses both the micro and macro scales of the structure.
The project positions itself as a new destination for student life and community activity on campus. Osprey Suites provides for different scales of educational and community-related connections through the ground-floor placement of amenities i.e., campus dining areas, student lounges, an outdoor patio, a campus multi-purpose room, and a community kitchen. These spaces reinforce the values of socialization, collaboration, and play that guided the design of the public areas.
Residential bedrooms feature views of downtown St. Petersburg to the north and west, and views of the harbor and bay to the south and east. Residential circulation features breakout spaces as well as more private residential lounges, which at select moments provide a visual connection to the more public lounges on the ground level.
