(St. Louis, MO, June 20, 2018) KWK Architects Principal Paul Wuennenberg, AIA, LEED AP, along with Diane Brittingham, Director of Residence Life and Associate Director at the University of Oklahoma, will share their personal experiences and insights into designing a residential college vs. a traditional residence hall at the Association of College and University Housing Officers – International (ACUHO-I) Conference & Expo., July 7-10 in Denver, CO.

ACUHO-I is a leading organization of more than 17,000 housing and residence life professionals representing 1.2 million on-campus students from around the globe. ACUHO-I provides its members with research, leadership tools and training programs geared toward optimizing on-campus student living environments.

Wuennenberg and Brittingham’s education session, “Designing Hogwarts: The Residential College of the 21st Century,” will take an in-depth look at the residential college model. Just like the famed Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry portrayed in the fictional J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series, modern residential colleges include strong academic and community elements, as well as student rooms and dining. The pair will talk about how the residential college model has evolved and how the design process for creating these facilities differs from that of a traditional residence hall.

Additionally, Brittingham will discuss the impact this model is having on the Residential Life program at the University of Oklahoma, which opened its first residential colleges, Headington and Dunham, in the fall of 2017.

The $75 million residential colleges, designed by KWK Architects, were influenced by the residential colleges on Ivy League campuses such as Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge. Each college features a faculty master apartment and office, dormitories, private parking, seminar/conference rooms, lounges, study areas, libraries and dining rooms. Each has its own house motto, colors, crest and athletic teams.

For more information about the ACUHO-I Conference & Expo., visit www.acuho-i.org/events/ace.

About KWK Architects

Founded in 2013 by five architects with a combined 150 years of higher education knowledge and experience, KWK Architects partners with colleges and universities across the United States to create innovative and inspiring places that enhance campus life. Areas of expertise include student housing and dining, and academic and science/technology spaces. KWK Architects has completed more than $1 billion in construction-valued projects since its founding and currently employs a growing staff of 15 at its headquarters in St. Louis, MO. For more information about KWK Architects, visit www.kwkarchitects.com or contact Director of Marketing Cindy Hausler.