St. Edward's University

When St. Edward’s University determined through their master planning process to build a new residence hall, they wanted more than just a place for students to live. The facility needed to support the goal of building the university community and recruiting students. The new residence hall needed to serve as a center for student life, providing a place where students live, eat, study, socialize and play. The University determined to hire a young “up and coming” creative designer with international stature. Alejandro Aravena of Santiago, Chile was selected. Alejandro was recognized by Architectural Record with a Design Vanguard award in 2004. He was educated at the Universidad Católica de Chile and taught Architectural Design at the Harvard University Graduate School of Design from 2000-2005 while commuting from Chile and has been named International Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects. Cotera+Reed Architects of Austin, Texas served as local Associate Architect and Architect of Record. The final design was truly a collaboration among many creative designers.