Drexel University, The Summit

Project Details

Project Description

The Summit at University City is a 24-story 1,315-bed urban student residence hall at Drexel University that blends the principles of high-rise design with the unique needs of student residents. The 530,000-square-foot mixed-use development was designed to help the University achieve its goal of revitalizing Philadelphia’s Lancaster Avenue Corridor – one of the city’s oldest thoroughfares and the intersection of the Drexel campus with the neighboring community – by fully leveraging the strategic site as a nexus between academic, commercial, and residential uses. The architect drew from the firm’s extensive experience in the high-rise residential market to design efficient floor plans that maximize views to the city/campus and incorporate a variety of two-to-four bedroom apartment and suite-style units. The Summit’s architectural composition responds to the site’s irregular geometry, existing grade changes, and surrounding context. Located at the eastern edge of the site, the tower acts as a visual termination of Drexel’s central quad and frames the introduction to the Lancaster Avenue corridor. The tower is set back from the North 34th Street edge to create an entry plaza for the residential lobby and space for the glass-enclosed one-story dining pavilion. The Lancaster Avenue side is lined with retail at the base of a low-rise residential building that gradually steps down from eight to five stories to meet the scale of the surrounding neighborhood. The tower is clad in patterned glass, while the low-rise portion features brick at the retail base and transitions to precast above. Designed with an emphasis on student community spaces, residents have access to a range of amenities. The ground floor serves as the programmatic hub for student activity with a social lounge, an Academic Success Center, a theater, study rooms, a game room, and a mail center. A fitness center on the mezzanine level overlooks a landscaped courtyard, and a top floor “sky lounge” offers panoramic views of the Philadelphia skyline. The largest amenity and community space within the building is Urban Eatery, a 20,000-square-foot, 400-seat full-service dining facility. The design team was challenged by Drexel to create a new model for an urban university dining hall, one that would bridge town and gown by being open to students and residents of the surrounding Powelton Village neighborhood. The design was inspired by the tradition of a city market – a lively urban center where food and people intermix. Urban Eatery features a variety of dining options including numerous themed venues and a grab-and-go café with extended hours. Seating areas are dispersed throughout the space, each designed to support a variety of gatherings- from friends grabbing a coffee to small study groups. The palette, interior finishes, and modern furniture for Urban Eatery reflect a contemporary urban sophistication with its fritted glass pattern, natural steel staircase, and warm wood ceilings. The design deliberately avoids the use of the University’s brand, which further demonstrates the space as a shared community facility; it is for both students and the neighborhood as a whole. The Summit was designed to achieve LEED Silver. It features a thermally sound enclosure of precast and glass to mitigate solar gain. Green roofing reduces heat island effect and building cooling loads, while operable windows throughout the residences help reduce energy consumption. Ample daylight floods the building through floor-to-ceiling windows reducing lighting loads, and solar shades minimize cooling loads and provide privacy. The building’s siting and form allows it to self-shade, reducing exposure to the western sun. Throughout the building, minimal finishes were used, leaving exposed concrete and other base materials uncovered where possible while still portraying sophisticated, modern, and complete spaces. The Summit also offers ample bike storage, reducing the need for parking. Storm water planters with native plantings on the amenity deck capture and filter storm water, and decrease the rate of runoff into the city sewers.