For a client committed to extraordinary student housing, KTGY’s designers grounded their design and story in the history of Lexington, Kentucky and the work of Benjamin Henry Latrobe. Verve Lexington is an off-campus home for students located on a transitional site between the University
of Kentucky and downtown; the designers’ primary objective is to remain sensitive to this context, and crucial to their success is mass that steps down from seven stories above grade to just three on the site’s low-intensity face. Integrating itself with Lexington’s historic, quilted neighborhoods,
the new building will house up to 779 students while creating a necessary transition zone.
The building’s envelope covers most of this infill site, so massing and material variations work to break up the building’s apparent volume. The designers use the site’s slope to partially conceal its height, and liner units, modeled after townhomes, complete the low-intensity residential facade
on the lower side. The Latrobe influence is most apparent in the building’s interior architecture. Symmetry, grandeur and organic design are the guideposts for interiors that include a coffee shop, generous lounge and study space, a spa-like recreation area and a club room complete with fireplace. The design prioritizes resident experience through fluid circulation from the two entrances, through generous shared spaces and out to the courtyards, culminating in a grand staircase, a true standout for any student housing development.
