Carnegie Mellon University, Stever House Re-Imagined

At Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), residence halls have a huge impact on the college experience. The campus home for students is a collaborative environment and an extension of their university identity. In 2017, CMU Marketing and Communications partnered with Student Affairs to redesign the first floor of Stever House, a first-year residence hall and destination on the admission campus tour. Situated cognition (learning associated with physical context) was a project requirement. The designers identified this as an opportunity to promote school pride, educate visitors and celebrate Buggy, a CMU tradition dating to 1920.

The personality of the project came alive with a careful balance of illustration, mural design, interior design and color theory. A large wall in the lobby became the surface for storytelling alongside nearly 50 years of buggy program covers and complicated die-cut buggy silhouettes. A decorative glass panel displaying the house symbol, the cactus, was designed to block the laundry room from the lounge. To emphasize the brand, the university mascot mark was meticulously fixed into the hardwood floor under four layers of varnish.

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