Santa Clara Magazine

Campus

A new Graham

Welcome to the neighborhood: amenities and environmentally friendly features. Photo by Charles Barry

In 1963 a group of women undergraduates walked through the gates of Graham Hall and were greeted by all the best amenities the times had to offer. Now, nearly 50 years later, freshmen and sophomore students have just set foot in a new Graham Hall, where 21st-century comforts welcome them.

True, there won’t be a pool to greet today’s Broncos. Instead, Graham Hall 2.0 features roomy suites and many green-design highlights.

Located across from the Harrington Learning Commons, Sobrato Technology Center, and Orradre Library—on the same patch of campus as the old residence hall—the new Graham is 125,000 square feet. Among the major new improvements are the 96 mini-suites, each designed for four students, who will share two rooms and a bathroom.

Keeping with the feel of the old Graham, the building still features four distinct resident “neighborhoods” and a spacious center courtyard. However, each eight-room neighborhood has received a makeover and now features a lounge, full kitchen, and laundry facilities.

Home suite home: The new Graham has a little the old—including the roof tiles. And, of course, that Bronco spirit. Photo by Charles Barry

The Pipestage, a club that became the stuff of legend, was another fondly remembered piece of Graham Hall’s history. While the new Graham may not host such headliners as Steve Martin, it will feature a small theater as well as two classrooms in its common areas.

In fact, there’s a lot of the old Graham in the new building. Ninety percent of the demolition waste, including concrete and the roof tiles from the old hall, was recycled or reused. Not only that, but according to Joe Sugg, assistant vice president of University Operations, the buildings will use “about 40 percent less energy than the strictest standard in California. SCU has submitted the new Graham for gold certification—the highest certification offered by LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design).”