Stepping inside the entry of Verve Bloomington, student residents and their guests are greeted with a bespoke leasing bar that brands the lobby and serves coffee, activating the student community entrance. Modern globe lights dangle in front of metal and ribbed glass backings, fixing the leasing bar and lobby firmly in agrarian, farmhouse aesthetics. Tile flooring and acoustic wood ceilings, used for sound dampening, drive the wood structure impression home. Hanging bicycles and intricately detailed wallpaper displaying graphics of buildings on campus symbolize the Verve’s connection to the university and surrounding bike-friendly community.
Inclusivity influenced the design of this project. Gender neutral bathrooms with full height partitions and communal sinks in common areas ensure that all residents feel safe and welcome within the walls of the Verve as they navigate the intricacies and rigors of college life.
Maximalist graphics and compelling patterns continue throughout the ground floor, trailing into the mail room and micro-market. Although each unit contains its own kitchen, the micro-market caters snacks and brain food to students who are deep in their books and compliments the community kitchen connected to the common club room – located just inside the pool deck. Suspended globe-shaped light fixtures give off the impression of celestial bodies, hinting at the bright future of the stellar student residents.
In addition to the rooftop pool deck, residents also have access to a state-of-the-art modern wellness center, fitness studio and sauna. Gritty graphic decals are balanced by AstroTurf running the length of the floor and up the wall, highlighted by a vibrant neon sign.
Booth seating, lounge chairs, and other study spaces scattered throughout the building provide plenty of options for students to hunker down and focus on their assignments, or to hang out and socialize with friends. Pendulum chandeliers that resemble planters hang from wood frame barn-like structures above study booths, connecting the farmhouse theme to places of quiet contemplation. All these features come together to create a place that emphasizes growth, connection, and enrichment – an ideal pasture for students to be planting the seeds of their future.
