University of Houston Cougar Village Phase II

Designed for Comfort and Style

Like many universities across the nation, the University of Houston has experienced a significant increase in enrollment in recent years. This increase created a demand for both on and off-campus housing on the south side of Houston. To maintain a vibrant student life on campus and compete with off-campus offerings, The University of Houston selected KSQ and BRAVE/architecture to create a housing complex to enhance and redefine the standard of living on the main campus. Our team was challenged to break the mold created in the first phase while maintaining a strict budget established three years prior and getting the project completed within 14 months.

The seven-story, 300,000 SF living-learning residence hall houses 1‚100 students. The first floor is programmed with student lounge spaces, university classrooms, and the relocated offices for the university’s residential life department. Two faculty apartments are also located on the first floor. The six additional floors house students with three lounges and adjacent kitchens. The corridors end on smaller lounges for study groups. At night, these lounges become large light boxes highlighting the building and connecting it visually to Phase I.

Using the surrounding university context for site planning, the layout of the building sits next to Phase I creating three separate and characteristically different exterior courtyards. A portion of the first floor also remains exposed to the exterior while the floors above create a covered gathering space reminiscent of Le Corbusier’s Swiss Pavilion. The façade’s materials were selected based on the campus’ palette.