3rd and West
Client
American Campus Communities, Purdue University
Location
West Lafayette, IN
3rd and West is a new student apartment community in the Discovery Park District at Purdue, a burgeoning mixed-use and interdisciplinary innovation district in West Lafayette. Lending to the project’s sense of place within the district, the building’s dynamic form establishes a public plaza at the corner of 3rd and McCormick.
The project serves 640 upper-division and graduate students in a variety of unit types, ranging from studios to four-bedroom apartments. All units feature bedroom/bathroom parity, allowing apartments to be leased in their entirety or by the bed. The main entry leads into a sequence of landscaped courtyards; the north being more public in nature and the south more private and primarily intended for residents. A highly transparent ground floor of amenities visually connects the two courtyards, with an operable glass wall opening to connect indoor spaces with outdoor amenities in the south courtyard. Amenities include indoor and outdoor kitchens, social and study lounges, private study rooms, and a fitness center. Additional spaces for study and group work are provided on each floor and stack the full height of the building at the corners, becoming a beacon from campus and marking the entry plaza.
As one of the first projects utilizing the district’s design guidelines, providing a safe and vibrant street edge was a key driver for the architectural design. Along the west façade, the site borders McCormick Road, a major arterial street and primary bike route between the district and adjacent campus. By setting the building back, the design allows for an expanded bike lane and sidewalk with ample lighting as well as native landscaping to make this a safe and inviting route. Shifts in the depth of the building’s façade along with patterned Norman brick and glazing create texture and dynamism along the street edge, break up the mass of the building into a more residential scale.
