Where Student Housing Feels Connected
Student housing has always been about connection. A connection to campus, to class, to friends, and to the routines that shape the college experience. But as student living continues to evolve, connection is taking on new meaning. It can be physical, like a walkable site near campus, an activated streetscape, or a courtyard woven into daily life. It can be social, through shared kitchens, study lounges, chapter rooms, and amenity spaces that bring people together. And it can be emotional, creating a sense of belonging to a place, a community, or a tradition that extends beyond a single academic year.
The best student living environments make room for all of it. They support focus and rest, create opportunities for spontaneous interaction, and offer privacy without isolation. As students look for comfort, flexibility, wellness, safety, and convenience, and universities and developers navigate changing expectations, the design challenge is no longer simply to deliver beds. It is to create places that work for residents, clients, campuses, and the surrounding community.
Peer on 7th: Campus-Adjacent Living with an Urban Edge
Peer on 7th in Columbus, Ohio, reflects the evolution of student housing from campus proximity to a more connected living experience. Located steps from The Ohio State University and within walking distance of the Short North Arts District, the six-story, 125-unit community offers 200 fully furnished beds across studio, one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments, supporting a range of lifestyles and levels of independence.
Designed to balance privacy and community, the project creates opportunities for connection, wellness, and productivity through shared amenities including a rooftop terrace, courtyard with firepits, fitness center, and study lounge. Its massing responds to the surrounding neighborhood, while the pedestrian-friendly streetscape strengthens the relationship between campus, city, and everyday student life.
Recognized with the 2025 Student Housing Business Innovator Award for Best Architecture & Design in the under-400-bed category, Peer on 7th offers a strong example of where student housing is headed: connected to campus, integrated into the city, and designed around the daily experiences of the people who live there.
Greek Housing: Designing for Identity and Belonging
Greek housing adds another layer to student living: identity. Chapter houses are more than residences. They are gathering places, leadership spaces, recruitment tools, alumni touchpoints, and physical expressions of an organization’s values and traditions.
In our Greek housing work, including Delta Gamma and ADPi at NC State, we design for both the everyday and the memorable including supporting study, meals, meetings, rest, and connection while creating spaces that reflect each chapter’s character and legacy.
Whether reimagining an existing house or designing new spaces for the next generation, the goal is the same: to create a home that feels personal, functional, welcoming, and deeply connected to the people who use it.
A Broader View of Student Housing
Cline’s student housing work spans purpose-built communities, mixed-use and campus-adjacent environments, and Greek housing rooted in identity and tradition. Across project types, our integrated expertise in architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, planning, and brand design helps create places that are both functional and meaningful.
The common thread is connection. Connection to campus, to community, to identity, and to the daily experiences that shape student life.
Because where students live matters. It influences how they learn, gather, build independence, and feel part of something larger. When designed with care, student housing becomes more than a place to stay. It becomes part of the college experience itself.
