Ramapo College Phase VIII
Student Housing
Mahwah, New Jersey
Cited for award by five different organizations, this 300-bed dormitory set new standards for residential living on the Ramapo campus. All of the difficulties of the site (a steep slope, wetlands, huge boulders from the last Ice Age, and traffic noise from Route 287) contributed to the design of this project.
The woodlands and the boulders from the terminal moraine were used to create a natural setting, which contrasts dramatically with the hard-edge details of the manmade object - the dormitory itself. The dorm is a simple, eight-story "bar" building, set perpendicular to the hill. This sets the main entrance almost 30' down the hill, making the building handicapped-accessible without switchback ramps.
The east-west orientation is ideal for thermal efficiency and day-lighting, and all the bedroom windows are oriented away from the noise of the highway. As seen from the academic core, across the existing pond (expanded to control storm-water run-off from the project), the building provides a spectacular presence in the landscape.
Although the construction process was delayed significantly by wetlands issues raised by a previous project, the dorm was constructed on-time and on-budget.
Geotechnical challenges included the presence of up to eight feet of unsuitable fill material and water bearing zones, which resulted in numerous seeps and springs. Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor's (PS&S) geotechnical recommendations to cope with these problematic conditions included dewatering and remedial earthwork measures, which enabled the structure to be supported utilizing conventional spread footing foundations rather than more costly pile foundations.
*Architectural services are provided by Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor Engineering, P.C., Paulus, Sokolowski and Sartor Architecture, P.C., PS&S California, Inc., or Paulus, Sokolowski & Sartor Architecture and Engineering Connecticut, P.C.