Harris Village Receives Project of Distinction Award

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Florida Institute of Technology’s Harris Village, the university’s newest residence hall complex, has received a Project of Distinction Award in the 2009 Education Design Showcase. The showcase was created by School Planning & Management and College Planning & Management magazines to share useful and pioneering solutions in planning, design and construction. Their goals are to establish what makes a “good” school and share ideas that will help determine the best possible learning environments for all students at all levels of education.

HarrisVillage was dedicated in fall 2008. Two of the three buildings in the village were named in honor of John T. Hartley and Phillip W. Farmer, major university supporters. The residence halls have one, two and four-bedroom units, each equipped with a cooking area. Each room has wireless Internet access, data outlets for cable and swipe-card access. Five units are handicap-accessible. Harris Village has meeting rooms and lounges and lighted basketball and volleyball courts. Hartley Hall is 46,515 square feet; Farmer Hall and the unnamed Building C are 46,473 square feet each.

Winners were selected based on the following criteria: project goals and vision, unique features and innovations, environmental considerations, special challenges and solutions, cost effectiveness, and safety and security considerations.