Eagle Ridge design unique to Chadron State

Mark Bacon, an associate with Bahr Vermeer Haecker (BVH), the architectural firm which has planned many CSC structures, said these units were designed specifically for Chadron State.

Bacon said the residential style with a gable roof and front porch was an intentional choice by the design team in an attempt to incorporate elements typical in suburban and rural homes.

BVH’s goal was to help the student housing director, Sherri Simons, create a small community of students rather than constructing a multilevel tower, especially in a transition zone between campus and residential areas.

A driving force behind the exterior materials utilized in construction is minimum upkeep, according to coordinator of construction Blair Brennan.

“With the size of the current maintenance staff, new structures must require little or no exterior maintenance. Without shingles to replace and siding to be repainted, these designs are ideal,” Brennan said.

Interior amenities include bedrooms larger than those in typical college housing, integrated bathrooms and a kitchenette in each building.

“Considerable planning went into the design of the lounges within each building and the placement of the buildings in relation to one another so students will have a view of the Pine Ridge and of other students in the courtyard,” Bacon said.

Since the units are situated on land which has been vacant for a number of years, the new skyline may take some getting used to. However, a major landscaping project should assist with blending the buildings into campus, according to Bacon.

The contractor plans to complete nearly $120,000 in landscaping this month.

“Lucinda Mays has been instrumental throughout the design phase and selection of plants. She has chosen plants that will work well in the Chadron climate as well as fitting in with the campus, so it will be one unified landscape,” Bacon said.

Native grasses and perennials such as dogwood, sumac, purple cone flower, rabbitbrush, goldenrod, bluestem, switch grass and sideoats grama will be planted around the units. This collection of prairie plantings will echo the native gardens around the Sandoz Center on the west side of campus, Bacon said.

Kentucky coffee trees, ponderosa pine, tannenbaum mugo pine, Black Hills spruce and several species of oak ranging from 4 to12 feet will be planted. Long-term plans include a dense row of evergreen trees between the homes on 10th Street and the Eagle Ridge housing units providing another layer of nature between the campus structures and the community.

“The good-sized trees will bring the scale of the buildings down. It will all come together. It takes time,” Bacon said.