The main reason that Park and Mudd Residence Halls are so architecturally unique is that they were originally designed 11 years ago as residence halls for upperclassmen, so they were intended to be distinctive.
“It is part of the general nature that times change and that the building is 11 years old,” said David Nolan, the associate director of off-campus housing at Washington University. He worked for the Office of Residential Life when Park and Mudd were being built.
Another reason the buildings are so distinct is that the architectural firm of Hastings and Chivetta designed the buildings. Other architectural firms designed the rest of the residence halls on the South 40.
The decision to make the buildings distinct also had political motivations. Residents of the Clayton area, which surrounds the South 40, expressed certain views regarding how the buildings should be built and how they should look.
“We were trying to meet the expectations of the local Clayton government,” said Nolan.
Nolan added that, while addressing the concerns of Clayton residents, the architects also wanted to bring some of the design of the Hilltop Campus to the South 40. They designed similar looking buildings with one exception. Unlike Hilltop buildings, architects did not choose to use granite block in Park or Mudd. Avoiding the use of expensive granite gave the residence halls a similar look without the added cost.
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