This 44 bed residence hall for the Minnesota State Academy for the Deaf (MSAD) in Faribault, MN consolidates boys and girls together in a single shared facility. Built to replace aging and inefficient existing Frechette Hall, it is the first new residence hall built on campus since the 1960’s. Conceived of as a “Go home Go School concept” the building is comprised of two main wings connected by a single story entrance lobby. Beyond housing its students, the new dormitory creates an iconic cam-pus space for the MSAD and strengthens the relationship to the existing campus buildings. The two story building steps with the sites topography to reduce its apparent height and allow for seamless and accessible connection between inside and out. Finished with warm materials, comfortable furniture and flood-ed with daylight, the residence hall employs the principals of Deaf Space to create a homelike environment that is tuned to deaf sensibilities.
Designing spaces for Deaf-Hard of Hearing and Low-vision users were built upon the ADA’s guidelines and includes acoustic considerations: ambient, mechanical, and material noise, but also lighting. By designing the spaces to include diffused natural light, minimizing corners and niches, using simple texture and color variations we were able to improve visibility between spaces. These details were combined with legibility of the floor plan to create a highly accessible facility to meet their programmatic needs.
The design team collaborated early to clearly identify strategies to guide team members through design and construction to achieve Minnesota B3 standards. Specific attention was focused on maintaining high indoor environmental quality through creative and intentional control of daylighting, vibrations, thermal comfort, and acoustics for a user demographic sensitive to light, sound, and vibrations.
