Resonating with Place

When buildings engage with their context - culturally, historically, and environmentally - they become integral to their setting, forming lasting connections between people and place. This approach is rooted in the concept of genius loci, or the spirit of place, where design emerges from a meaningful dialogue with its landscape rather than being imposed upon it.

The following projects demonstrate how architecture defines and sustains the distinct character of each campus, balancing functional needs with deeper, place-based values.

At the University of Chicago, Campus North Residential Commons negotiates the threshold between the university’s historic core and the urban fabric of Hyde Park. Designed in collaboration with Studio Gang, the residence hall reimagines student housing as a vertical neighborhood, encouraging both community and urban engagement.

The University’s beloved ‘house system’ reveals itself in the architecture where the 3-story ‘houses’ have staggered floor plates reflecting each community, reinforcing a sense of belonging within a larger whole. The overall composition steps from eighteen stories against Chicago’s dynamic skyline down to five stories, respecting the scale of the surrounding neighborhood.

Laser-cut metal screens animate the façade, while casting ephemeral patterns of light into throughout the day. These perforated panels serve multiple functions—enhancing security, providing natural ventilation, and establishing a tactile connection to the environment, and remembering the heritage of tracery found in the collegiate gothic buildings of the campus core.

Inside each house, shared lounges, study spaces, and quiet nooks are integrated into the residential environment, supporting both focused study and spontaneous dialogue. These spaces reflect the rhythm of House life, where academic engagement and social interaction naturally intersect, shaping a lived experience that is deeply connected to the culture of learning at the University of Chicago.

Princeton’s campus is a dialogue between past and present, where courtyards, cloisters, and stone facades reflect centuries of architectural continuity. Hobson College, situated on the site of First College, extends this legacy while addressing the evolving needs of student life.

Hobson integrates with Princeton’s Gothic Revival aesthetic, incorporating gabled roofs, portals, and a masonry compatible with “Princeton Stone”, which is locally quarried and historically tied to the campus. These elements reinforce form and materiality while allowing for new expressions of transparency and flexibility.

The new Hobson Quad and a series of courtyards provide spatial continuity with the zone of campus and define the college’s footprint, completing an east-west connection that reinforces Princeton’s walkable, interconnected campus. These outdoor rooms are designed to accommodate a range of interactions, from contemplative space, spontaneous gatherings, and planned College or reunion events. At ground level, common areas dissolve the boundary between formal and informal learning, reflecting Princeton’s enduring commitment to scholarship as both and individual and a communal experience.

New Orleans is a city characterized by its active streets – balconies, shaded porches, permeable thresholds, and a rhythm of movement that blurs public and private space. Tulane’s Residential Village embraces this language, bringing the spirit of the city into campus life.  

Fogelman Hall and New Paterson Hall anchor "The Village," a district of five new residence halls that form the central hub of student life. Designed as a mixed-class community, the Village brings together first and second-year students, reinforcing the synergy of community and strengthening its sense of place as a dynamic, connected neighborhood. The ground floors of River and Lake Halls act as an "energy center," where movement and gathering activate McAlister Drive, creating a pedestrian-friendly “main street” that mirrors the social vibrancy that New Orleans is known for.

Material choices reinforce a connection to place. Local St. Joe brick, with its rich, iron-flecked patina, ties the new district to Tulane’s established architectural language. The preservation of the university’s iconic oak trees ensures that the landscape remains integral to the student experience, offering both shade and continuity.

Guided by Tulane’s 1995 Housing Master Plan and expanded through the 2019 Uptown Campus Master Plan, the Village reinterprets campus living through the lens of New Orleans—porous, social, and ever-evolving—strengthening the university’s deep connection to its cultural and environmental identity.

At Rhodes College, architecture is an act of permanence. Rooted in a vision first articulated by Dr. Charles Diehl in the early 20th century, the Collegiate Gothic campus is a study in craftsmanship where hand-carved limestone, deep-set windows, and steeply pitched roofs create an environment of quiet reverence and continuity.

Since 1998, Hanbury has worked in close partnership with the college, guiding a sequence of projects that uphold this legacy while adapting to contemporary needs. Buildings like Robertson Hall, West Village, and the Catherine Burrow Refectory continue the narrative of campus, carefully integrating modern functions and enhanced transparency without disrupting the campus’ architectural integrity.

This approach goes beyond individual projects with each intervention seen not a stand-alone gesture but part of an ongoing dialogue, reinforcing the timeless character of campus while allowing it to evolve. The result is a place that remains cohesive, enduring, and unmistakably Rhodes.

For each of these projects, architecture is an active presence, shaping the rhythms of academic and social life. From Tulane’s dialogue with the culture of New Orleans to Princeton’s contemporary interpretation of its Gothic forms, each reveals the role design plays in expressing and sustaining identity.

These buildings are not interchangeable; they belong to their place. Rooted in their landscapes, histories, and communities, they embody the spirit of their surroundings. Transcending function, they enrich the lived experience, cultivating a sense of belonging that endures as strongly as the institutions themselves.