Boston College

Stokes Hall, Chestnut Hill, MA

Stokes Hall is a new home for the humanities on Boston College’s historic Middle Campus. Home to the institutions most iconic Collegiate Gothic buildings, close attention was given to ensuring the design for the new building was sensitive to the historically significant campus.

The building is organized into two separate masses, Stokes North and South, the two connected by an enclosed link bridge on the second level, and pedestrian walkways at ground level. This project completes the west edge of the campus green and provides students in residence halls with an indoor access link to other parts of the campus, and creates a popular new outdoor garden and plaza.

Designing and building in service to the study of humanities requires a focus on community. There are opportunities for shared collaboration and reflection spaces throughout the building, and in the integrated campus green spaces outside. Multiple formal and informal social spaces promote learning outside the classroom and create a sense of community.