Wilberforce, Ohio
Wilberforce University Dorm
- Architect
- Dalton Architects
- General Contractor
- A Team Property M &M
- Size
- 3 Story, 6-Unit, 7,850 sq.ft. Residence
- Project Type
- Ground-Up Construction
Challenge
Deliver high efficiency in both design and construction providing long-term energy savings and low maintenance costs.
Designed to meet the needs of the student population with 2 apartments per floor, each with 3 bedrooms, 3 baths and a living area.
Solution
Delivered R-33 load-bearing exterior walls for three floors
Delivered R-60 roof panel system, support beams, and end wall assemblies
Result
Delivered project on schedule and budget with onsite panel installation consultation.
On video
Our video of this building, and what it shows, cited to the moment it is said. The film loads from YouTube only when you press play.
What the video shows
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The video description gives Dorm #1 as “18 dorms on 3 stories with 6 suite style units”, with a building envelope of Guardian Shield™ panels.
Source · Guardian video “Wilberforce University Dorm One” (YouTube, September 21, 2026), video description
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The film follows the build from the slab and the first-floor panels, past the steel framing inside and a crane setting the upper panels, to the sheathing and the finished three-story building with siding and windows.
Source · Guardian video “Wilberforce University Dorm One” (YouTube, September 21, 2026), whole video
Why this approach fit
The challenge, solution and result above are the project record. What follows is commentary on why the approach suited the building.
Student housing asks more of a building than a family home does over the same period. It sees harder use and irregular hours, and the university pays the running and maintenance costs for decades, which is why the brief here put long-term energy savings and low maintenance first.
The plan concentrates that demand. Two apartments per floor across three floors, each with three bedrooms, three bathrooms and a living area, means a small number of large shared units with a lot of activity in each. An envelope that holds a steady temperature matters more with that much activity inside, and it is the exterior walls and the roof that the panels provide here.
Structurally this is load-bearing panel across all three floors, R-33 walls with an R-60 roof, delivered with the support beams and end wall assemblies. As at Canal Street, load-bearing use removes a separate structural frame from the schedule rather than merely lightening it.
One practical detail is worth noting because it is easy to overlook when comparing systems. Guardian provided on-site panel installation consultation, which is what makes a first build with an unfamiliar crew land on schedule. The system is straightforward, but the first one is always the one that teaches the crew.
