Christopher Carvell, AIA, as Lead Design Principal and Founding Partner in 1995- formed CCA’s Student Life Studio in 2001 specializing in student housing architecture projects across the nation.

Over the years Mr. Carvell has been responsible for programming, master planning, and the design of over 18,000 beds of purpose-built/mixed-use student housing totaling over 4 million square feet on and adjacent to top tier university campuses nationwide.

At Carvell Architects we understand that today’s digital, millennial and Gen ‘Z’ generations attend college with unprecedented expectations.  In many cases this requires 1 bath / bedroom parody, open kitchens in day-light filled suites and apartments in addition, doubles with pod bathrooms and micro singles are reinventing community as the new normal fostering collaboration outside the unit.

Over the last 22 years, Carvell has specialized in the design of student life facilities including: student unions, student recreation centers, satellite dining halls, mixed use residence halls and next generation apartment buildings.

Current Trends:

• Residential vibrancy supported by program driven destination mixed-use amenities equates to the “total village concept.”   This model was first implemented 10 years ago in an effort to create a student life precinct on campus.  Today, the model continues to break down traditional boundaries (silo’s) by integrating the Living-Learning community paradigm in all campus facilities.  Outcomes include: Collaboration, sharing, interacting and growth holistically toward retention and graduation success.
• 21st century concepts fostering community, flexibility, sustainability and anytime-anyplace (high band width) access to mobile technology.
• Great design maximizes the potential for collaboration and informal learning
• Sustainable Design Practices as an educational tool implemented by the students (“Eco-Reps”)

“The Triple Bottom Line”

Energy efficient practices include passive design strategies that start with optimizing the buildings orientation to the sun in order to control solar loads while maximizing daylighting and natural ventilation. Other sustainable features include high performance building envelopes – coupled with efficient HVAC systems displaying virtual consumption metrics to the building’s occupants as an educational model.  Selective and discerning use of indigenous materials and renewable energy sources (PV, & geothermal) and native landscaping all contribute to a reduction in the buildings carbon footprint with 10 buildings having obtained LEED Gold Certification.

Strong Focus on Research & Communication

At CCA we use models, sketches, and advanced visualization technology, web-based communication as an integral part of our planning process.

The Carvell Architects firm is committed to developing innovative “neighborhood” models for student housing architecture based on the way students really live and learn and the values that each college and university wish to convey.

Mr. Carvell has presented at national and regional conferences on how destination mixed-use facilities are impacting the student housing space.  Mr. Carvell regularly serves as a guest lecturer at schools of architecture and as a juror for industry design award programs.