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88 / BUILDING DIALOGUE / December 2021 / The University of Denver / global kitchen where students can prepare and share cuisines from around the world, a natural café and even a Starbucks. The second floor features more dining, highlighted by the Rebecca Chop Grand Central Market, a food hall that features nine micro-restaurants that serve a rotat- ing lineup of multicultural food options. Also on the sec- ond floor is a faculty lounge and The Overlook, a balcony with a view of the Grand Forum event space below. The third floor features separate undergraduate and graduate student lounges, both connected by a large bal- cony that overlooks the campus green. The fourth floor is home to a small, glass-enclosed private dining room that opens to a rooftop patio with stunning views of the mountains and campus, as well as a green roof. This green roof, which covers 30% of the building’s total roof, is now the largest on the DU campus. According to Loefgren, all of the furniture in the build- ing is movable so it can be reconfigured at any time. “It’s a building that can be messed with and that gives the opportunity for greater ownership by our students and faculty. “It's quite a successful project for the campus because of how happy people are,” says Loefgren. “You see them in the building, they're relaxed, they're smiling, they're interacting. And that's really what I think one of the ma- jor roles for architects is: to create environments for peo- ple so that they can enjoy their lives. I'm very happy with the project.” From the start, the vision for the Dimond Family Res- idential Village was laser-focused on inclusion and the creation of a safe, welcoming environment for first year students. Withmost DU residence halls located along High Street, the central placement of Dimond was purposeful and in line with their goals of inclusion. Research across the higher education field shows that 25% of first-generation students drop out after their first year, and loneliness is a major driver of that statistic. Dimond was designed to lower that number at DU. “It’s about making relationships,” says Rodgers. “And we’re trying to make sure [Dimond] is as welcoming as possible and engaging as possible.” So now, on what had been a campus parking lot with a couple of old bungalows, DU has a 130,000-sf, four-sto- ry, LEED Gold residence village. Designed in the shape of an “H” with a fourth-floor bridge connecting two wings, Dimond’s exterior integrates DU’s material palate of cop- per, brick and brush-hammered concrete. The outdoor area between the two wings also creates a gathering space large enough for all of DU’s first-year residents. Inside, the inclusion happens in a systematic approach Dimond Family Residential Village University architect: Mark Rodgers Design architect: Anderson Mason Dale Architects – Denver Collaborating architect: Moore Ruble Yudell – Santa Monica, California General contractor: Saunders Construction – Denver Dimond Family Residential Village: Dimond’s exterior integrates DU’s material palate of copper, brick and brush-hammered concrete.