If the architects of the Tuck Mall and McLaughlin residence clusters succeed, the Fall term's unveiling of the new dorms will not have the same jarring effect on campus aesthetics as the rollout of more controversial buildings did in the 20th century.
The outward appearances of the residence halls have been carefully crafted to merge with other traditional College buildings, despite having been designed by two different architects, according to Marlene Heck, professor of Art History.
The main inspiration for the new buildings comes from the popular red brick Georgian revival style, as seen in the Massachusetts Row and Gold Coast residence halls. John Wilson, associate director of the office of planning, design and construction, described the buildings' style as "referential" to their context. The buildings on Tuck Mall will be more ornate to match their older nearby counterparts in the Gold Coast, while the more remote McLaughlin cluster will skimp on outside decoration because of its location.
"The building on Tuck Mall is more traditionally detailed than the buildings on north campus because of the context," Wilson said. "The detailing [on the McLaughlin Cluster] is less ornate, fewer moldings and different carved stone. There's less elaborate use of copper than you would see on Mass Row."
The other residence halls and buildings built during the 1910s, '20s and '30s had their architecture based on the original Georgian style of Dartmouth Hall.
"There's a real eye to what's here already. We're working to slip these new buildings in as slickly as possible," Heck said.
The College constructed its more controversial modern buildings as part of an initiative during the 1950s, '60s and '70s, according to Heck, to "bring the College's architecture into the 20th century."
The architects of the two clusters hope not to cause the controversy generated by some of Dartmouth's less traditional buildings such as the Hopkins Center or the "shower tower" eyesores of Gerry and Bradley Halls,
Later in the century, however, architectural attitudes flipped.
"We're such a small campus, and a false move could really hurt the campus aesthetic," Heck said.
Because the McLaughlin cluster dorms border so closely on the neighborhood around Occom Pond, architects made special efforts not to make the dorms stand out from any other part of the campus.
"The idea is that on the exterior these are good neighbors to the buildings around them," Heck said. "The College is trying to be sensitive to these settings."
Despite their traditional exteriors, the new dorms will feature a variety of modern conveniences not seen in the older dorms, such as bamboo dance floors and a radiant heat system.
"We wanted the feel and the character to be like that of our existing residence halls. But we also wanted them to have more and better amenities in terms of common spaces," Wilson said.
