George Mason University Faculty and Staff Housing Wins More Awards!

Date Posted: 10/7/2011

Torti Gallas and Partners is proud to announce that Masonvale, the Faculty and Staff Housing at George Mason University, has recently received two design awards. In June, Masonvale received a 2011 Award of Merit in the PCBC Gold Nugget Awards in the category of Campus Housing Project - Affordable. In September, Masonvale was recognized by the Metropolitan Washington and Virginia Chapters of the Associated Builders and Contractors with an Excellence in Construction Award in the Residential Multi-Townhome category.

Confronting a rising cost of living and a critical need for affordably-priced housing in Northern Virginia, George Mason University chose to develop some of its vacant property as a tool for attracting and retaining young faculty and staff. The University selected Torti Gallas and Partners as part of a development team to build and manage housing at various sites on the Fairfax Campus. The program includes 157 units, ranging from one and two bedroom flats to three bedroom townhouses and duplexes on a 16 acre site on the east side of the campus.

The primary design challenge was to craft new neighborhoods as seams that knit together the University and surrounding community of Fairfax City, as both try to manage rapid development that is expected to continue into the next decade. The design of the site and the housing ameliorates this by creating a network of walkable streets that establishes connections between town and gown while discouraging increased through-traffic. The house designs capitalize on the best of the traditional architecture of Old Town Fairfax.

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