The Summit Residences and Court,
Trinity College
Hartford
William Rawn Associates, Architects

An architecture of transition binds together the old with the new

© Steve Rosenthal

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Trinity College's Summit Residences and Court are the first set of buildings constructed under the college's new master plan, whose purpose is to fill in the missing teeth and strengthen a series of four quadrangles from south to north. In order to find an appropriate architectural connection to both William Burges' original Long Walk quadrangle built in 1848 and to the highly varied buildings constructed since 1960, the design balances the modern with the Collegiate Gothic.

Fitted into a very tight corner of the Life Sciences Quadrangle, this building seeks to be a decidedly sculptural form, a raised accent, to complete the quad. The twelve-foot wide ramp (with occasional steps) acts more like a medieval ramp entering an Italian hill town. It speaks of entry to the new raised court, yet its width and gradualism create an almost seamless connection to the quad below. Summit Tower is designed to announce the arrival to the college from the south, and refers to Trinity's Chapel Tower—the iconic image farther to the north. Its form is deliberately non-historic—forming a head to a linear building without resorting to traditional gable or pyramided tower forms.

Drawing on extensive residence hall experience, the architect combined three resident "houses" with a total of 173 beds around a cohesive quadrangle. All of the bedrooms are single rooms, and most are contained in suites consisting of a living room, four single bedrooms, and a private bathroom. Summit Tower includes a dining facility and offices for the Tutorial College. Summit Suites North and South include a seminar room at their court level entries, and each has a faculty apartment.

Formal name of Project:
The Summit Residences and Court, Trinity College

Location:
Hartford

Gross square footage:
86,667 sq. ft.

Total construction cost:
$23.5 million

Owner:
Trinity College