ASU Taylor Place Opens in Downtown Phoenix

Austin Commercial, Arizona State University and the city of Phoenix all celebrated a milestone Monday, Sept. 8 as the newest residences on Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix Campus were officially deemed open by ASU President, Michael Crow and Phoenix Mayor, Phil Gordon.

The residence hall, Taylor Place, consists of two towers each extending 13 stories into the sky. The towers share a ground floor level with retail space, a cafe, staff offices and several student lounge areas.

Typical units have operable windows, access to Wi-Fi, a private bathroom and access to a separate heating and air conditioning unit. To articulate the exterior design some rooms have floor to ceiling glazed windows and all rooms on the top floor, or the penthouse floor, feature floor to ceiling glazed windows.

The project team implemented many sustainable, innovative strategies, systems and materials including building overhang and trellis wrap at the south and west face to provide shading at the street; regionally manufactured concrete; low-flow shower heads and faucets; condensation from the fan coil in each room is collected and utilized for on-site irrigation; aluminum composite panels were manufactured from 85% recycled content; and a comprehensive recycling strategy is in place to separate and collect recycling from all rooms and facilities. These are only a few of the green initiatives making Taylor Place towers an impressive example of sustainability in downtown Phoenix.

Through the city’s public art program, a local artist was hired to help capture the site’s history. Artistic in-lays made from materials of the demolished buildings line the sidewalk in front of Taylor Place. Colored pieces of glass, tile, stone and brick make up a variety of sculpted patterns.

`It’s brand new, has state-of-the-art technology and is just a beautiful building in downtown Phoenix," said Jennifer Doty with ASU. ``It’s really exciting to have Taylor Place here with all of the students this fall."