Improving the Comfort of Enlistment

Building Comfortable Quarters for Airmen

In an effort to improve military readiness and retention, the U.S. Air Force set out to improve upon the standard of dormitories and developed a new ‘One-Plus-Four’ design dubbed ‘Dorms-4-Airmen’ where four individuals share living space but each has a private bedroom suite. MacDill, home to 6th Air Mobility Wing, was selected as the test site for this prototype design as part of their housing upgrade program. After constructing the first 80-bed prototype, we constructed this second 108-bed dormitory allowing an additional 108 airmen at MacDill AFB to enjoy an immediate increase in their standard of living.

Project Details

This three-story dormitory is built upon a module or ‘quad’ design with four airmen assigned to a quad. Each of the 27 quad units in this facility is 880 SF and contains 340 SF of centralized living space and four 135 SF private bedroom and bathroom suites. The shared living space includes a living room, dining room, and a full kitchen with in-unit laundry facilities. Each of the private bedroom suites connects from the common space and includes a private three-piece bathroom, walk-in closet, mini refrigerator, and desk/study area. Additionally, each bedroom has individually controlled heating and cooling. Additional building aspects include a common activity room, vending areas, and offices on the first floor. Exterior construction included extensive utilities, as well as pavilions for mailboxes, motorcycles, and bicycle storage.

Sustainability

The facility was designed to obtain LEED® Silver certification with the U.S. Green Building Council, but due to our diligent efforts, the sustainability goals were exceeded and the project achieved LEED® Gold certification at no additional cost to the client.