Move-in day at Syringa Hall, Boise State’s newest residence hall, saw over 400 new students ready to embark on the adventure of living alone, likely for the first time. As students filed in through the building’s front doors, parents and siblings followed close behind, carrying everything from skis to guitars to make their new space a home away from home.
Named after Idaho’s state flower, growing Syringa plants can be found at the building’s entrance. The six-story dormitory sits on a prime campus location, facing the quad and nestled between the library and Boise Greenbelt.
“The location is great. It’s close to everything I’m interested in,” Computer Science major Lex Watts said on move-in day. “It’s very beginner-friendly.”
The building features an abundance of meeting rooms and lounge areas scattered across all floors, each with its own distinct style and view of the area.
The large windows and natural light on every floor created a welcoming atmosphere and provided students with a chance to look over the university they will be calling home for the next year.
“There [is] a cool lookout on the fifth floor I’m excited to see,” Lucas Sharar, Construction Management major, said. In addition to viewpoints, the dorm hallways include designated wall indents for students to socialize without blocking foot traffic.
Syringa Hall introduced several campus firsts to modernize the Boise State dormitory experience. Senior Director of Housing and Residence Life Lynda Tieck, shared she hopes the building sets a new standard for other residence halls by being the first to include a mail locker room, making it significantly more convenient for students to obtain their mail. The building also features four elevators side-by-side, a design choice meant to ease the moving in and out process.
While most incoming freshmen may be used to sharing a bathroom with a sibling or two, communal bathrooms can be an adjustment. Syringa’s bathrooms seek to make the transition easier by separating toilets from the showers in two separate spaces. The small but significant change will help prevent overcrowding, as well as allow students who are showering to avoid bathroom odors. Each floor includes one single-user restroom, providing easy access for students with disabilities.
While making these design choices, Tieck drew inspiration from schools such as the University of Utah and the University of Iowa.
“The community bathrooms look really nice,” added Hans Loos, Business major.
The massive facility hosts 438 beds for first-year students as well as 14 single dorms for resident advisors.
Syringa Hall is addressing recruitment issues Boise State has previously faced by providing each RA with their own private bathroom.
“Ultimately, I want to hire the best staff. Sometimes that’s a senior and they are awesome, but they don’t want to have that traditional first-year experience. They’re past that.” Tieck said. “This allows me to put any staff member in here that wants to have a great experience and be able to lead a team. We want the best of the best working with our first year students. I don’t want people not to take the job because they don’t have their own bathroom.”
The building also includes a two-bedroom apartment on the first floor, designed for a live-in Resident Director who supervises the RAs.
“Being able to attract hot talent when it comes to resident directors is important,” she explained. “We want people who want to be in the field and we want to accommodate that.”
Tieck oversaw much of the building’s development and made several critical design choices to cultivate social interaction among students within the residence hall.
“If I was worried about my students meeting people and being engaged, I would absolutely put them in this kind of community. They can’t hide out too much,” she said. “This is a building that we want you to get out and into the community.”
Tieck noted construction of the building wasn’t without its challenges. As the dormitory sits above an aquifer, special mitigation efforts were implemented. The structure also includes several architectural ditches designed to prevent flooding from the Boise River, ensuring that the building will remain durable for an extended period of time.
This brand new residence hall represents Tieck’s commitment to creating living spaces, encouraging connections and elevating college life.
“There’s a lot of intentionality in this building,” Tiek said. “That was something I was fighting for, how do we build community? It doesn’t cost a lot to add these details, but it’s going to make the experience that much better.”
