Student Success District, University of Arizona

Project highlights: Student Success District, University of Arizona

• Architect: The Miller Hull Partnership, LLP. and Poster Mirto McDonald
• Owner: University of Arizona 
• Location: Tucson, Ariz.

This project, on the University of Arizona’s Tuscon campus, unites the school’s essential yet siloed student support services. While comprehensive in nature, involving campus planning, exterior site improvements, and architectural interventions, the project is rooted in transformation and the connection of interior spaces that offer elevated experiences aimed at nurturing tomorrow’s leaders.

Based on the university’s research, it clearly understood that student retention and graduation rates were much higher among those who participated in student support services when compared to their

peers. Many of its programs were quite successful, noting 9,500 advising appointments, 2.3 million library visits, and 20,000 counseling and psychological services appointments in 2019 alone. Unfortunately, the majority of services were situated in unwelcoming and far-flung spaces on campus, rendering them invisible to many students.

The project hinged on revitalizing three existing buildings and the construction of a new one to centralize all services along the campus’ main mall. Constructed in the 1960s and 70s, the university’s two libraries suffered from pancake floor plans and no little to no access to daylight. Between them sits Bear Down Gymnasium, a landmark structure once the campus fitness hub but now relegated to a cubicle farm supporting various student service programs. All three were disconnected and hamstrung by band-aid solutions that shaped interior experiences that were isolated at best and inhumane at worst.

In renovating the existing spaces and adding the new four-story LEED Gold certified Bartlett Academic Success Center, the team shaped an interconnected 9-acre Student Success District that actively engages the university’s students. The renovated gym is the district’s heart, with careful attention to retaining the elements of its suspended mezzanine bleachers and gym floor. It remains on the National Register of Historic Places and meets preservation standards according to the Secretary of the Interior’s guidelines.

To create a connective flow between the previously inward-looking buildings, the team cut new entries by inserting steel plate portals in the facades to form a new circulation language. Inside, bold graphic signage supports circulation and wayfinding that evokes a variety of desert landforms. In enhancing the entries and circulation, the team provided a clear path for students in search of support, eliminating the previously maze-like and illogical conditions.

The university welcomes an extremely diverse student body, including a significant number of students from traditionally underrepresented communities like the Navajo Nation. Many are first-generation university students arriving from family and community conditions that are unable to offer the typical support students take for granted. The programs housed in this new and accessible district are crucial for preparing students for academic and post-graduation success.