herr2ck: Upper Crust

September 2025.

These cookie-cutter north campus dorms are nice to live in, but they vary in their architectural caliber. I’ll take it over the Pruitt-Igoe-esque Modernism of Drackett/Taylor/Jones, though, and they attempt to repair the fragmented urban fabric that those buildings created.

Gen Z’ers like me may find it interesting to know that while these dorms are new, some of them replaced older Modernist ones in the style of Houck House et al. Similarly, those dorms will be demolished and replaced in the future, as seen in Framework 3.0. I’m lucky to be able to see both styles in an odd transition period. See my article on “The Esteemed” for more information about the older buildings.

This was a big project, but it took some digging to figure out the responsible firms. I finally found the official name for the project--“North Residential District Transformation”--and kaboom, a million architecture firms had it listed on their website. It appears that HKS Architects were the lead firm, assisted by other local firms such as Acock Associates (elevation design, site plan, drawings), MKSK (site plan, landscape design), and Schooley Caldwell (design for Raney House, construction administration). Messer Construction was the lead builder. According to Schooley Caldwell’s website, most of the buildings were ready in summer 2015, while the remainder opened in summer 2016.

As in other articles where I’m covering a series of buildings that are effectively identical, I split this article into sections about each individual structure.

Torres House History

Torres House is one of the dorms named after a later veteran and did not replace an earlier dorm. Some building (probably a service building) used to stand on the site, according to John Herrick’s campus maps, but this was demolished before 2007 as it is not visible on Google Maps. At the time of Torres’ construction, it was a parking lot. It is eight stories tall, one story higher than the other dorms built concurrently. Torres House is located north of Drackett Tower and Archer House, south of Lane Avenue, east of Jesse Owens North, and west of North Rec.

Torres House is named after PFC Omar Ernesto Torres, an Ohio State student who died in the Iraq War. He was a member of the ROTC battalion and joined the Ohio National Guard, then the Army in his sophomore year. Torres was deployed to Iraq in May 2007 and was killed when an IED detonated near his unit on August 22, 2007.

Torres House Photos

I think Torres House is one of the better-designed buildings in the project. Here is the Lane Avenue facade:

East facade from further away:

It’s weird to me how part of the base is concrete, possibly a holdover of Renaissance/Romanesque visual weight? The entrance is also below grade:

South facade:

It’s even crowned with a cornice:

The reason why I like Torres so much is because of its fine brickwork. There are a lot of subtle details, such as the molded brick pilasters and the recessed panels that echo the fenestration elsewhere.

Even the piers between windows are highly detailed:

Scott House History

Scott House is the most architecturally unique building in the “North Residential District,” but this was probably because it has Traditions at Scott located in its base. I can’t imagine living above the busiest dining hall on campus. The current Scott House is located north of the CBEC Building, south of Drackett Tower, east of Blackburn and Nosker Houses, and west of Norton and Mendoza Houses.

Scott House replaced an older four-story men’s dorm with the same name, interestingly occupying a similar footprint but rotated 90 degrees. It sat about where the new weird clock tower is now. This first Scott House was designed by W. E. Linch in 1962, with a concrete frame clad in brick. It was built from 1962-1963 by Baker & Coombs, Inc., in conjunction with Haverfield House and Norton House.

The old Scott House in 1967. (Buckeye Stroll)

Scott House is named after Robert Scott, an Ohio State student who was killed in action aboard the USS California during the attack on Pearl Harbor. He was awarded the Medal of Honor, the first Ohio State student so honored.

Robert Scott c. 1941. (University Archives)

Scott House Photos

West facade of Scott House with loading dock:

View of the wide dining area:

Scott makes a lot of nice moves similar to Torres House. I really like the parapet and coffering of the brick piers:

The east facade:

Entrance to Traditions at Scott:

The roof even has an abstracted balustrade along it:

The added depth from all the brickwork is so nice.

Connecting Grounds’ glass cube:

Houston House History

Houston House is another dorm not replacing an earlier one. It sits right on the prior intersection between Curl Drive (which no longer exists) and Lane Avenue. A series of older houses also existed to its side, which were demolished for the basketball courts behind North Rec. It is located north of Jones Tower, south of Lane Avenue, east of North Rec, and west of Taylor Tower.

Houston House was named after CPT John Hideo Houston, a Japanese Ohio State graduate who served in the Marine Corps. He actually beat cancer during his time at Ohio State, graduating in 1975 with a degree in business administration. After graduation he completed his training and worked in various Asian countries, such as Vietnam, Sri Lanka, and Korea. Houston tragically died on March 24, 1984, when his helicopter crashed on the way back to base.

Houston House Photos

Lane Avenue facade:

Nosker House History

The current Nosker House replaced an older Modernist dorm, likewise designed by W.E. Linch. It was built a bit later in 1965-1966, along with Archer House. It stands north of Blackburn House, south of Jones Tower, east of Scott House, and west of Barrett House.

Old Nosker House, undated, but likely taken soon after construction. (Buckeye Stroll)

Nosker House was named after William Nosker, a guard on the football team who served in World War II. He flew more than 30 missions before his death. He had earned the Bronze Star and Air Medal with three clusters.

William Nosker in his uniform, 1944. (Buckeye Stroll)

Nosker House Photos

South facade:

Note how it lacks the fancy brickwork of the others, making it less visually interesting.

Entrance:

Skinnier east facade:

Blackburn House History

Blackburn House also replaced an older dorm with the same name. It was built by itself and not as part of a project, designed by W.E. Linch and constructed from 1962-1963. The current Blackburn House is located north of Fontana Lab, south of Nosker House, east of Scott House, and west of Haverfield House.

Blackburn House in 1967. (Buckeye Stroll)

Blackburn House was named after John Blackburn, an Ohio State graduate who enlisted in the Navy. He served aboard the USS Utah, and like Robert Scott, tragically died during the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941.

John Blackburn, 1941. (University Archives)

Blackburn House Photos

Blackburn is probably the largest of these dorms, as it makes an L-shape in plan and is taller:

Much better than that “shoebox in the park” nonsense in the foreground here.

The west facade was tough to get because it’s so close to Scott, so this crappy angle is the best I could do:

Raney House History

Raney House is a new construction, replacing an old parking lot and part of Curl Drive. Interestingly, a sign similar to the existing one that stands by the corner of 11th and High also existed on the corner of Lane and High, which has since disappeared after Raney and Bowen House were built. However, the name “Raney” had been used on campus before, in the old Raney Commons (which Busch House was built on the site of).

Alice Raney, undated. (Buckeye Stroll)

Raney House was named after Alice Raney, an Ohio State graduate who enlisted in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. She was the first woman who attended OSU to die in service during WWII, as she became ill while on active duty. Raney House is located north of Busch House, south of Lane Avenue, east of Taylor Tower, and west of Bowen House.

Raney House Photos

East facade:

West facade from near Taylor Tower:

Bowen House History

As mentioned above, Bowen House is also a new dorm, sitting right across from Raney House on the same site. It is located north of Busch House, south of Lane Avenue, east of Bowen House, and west of North High Street.

Clotilde Bowen in 1975. (US Army)

Bowen House was named after Clotilde Bowen, the first black woman to graduate from the school of medicine in 1947. In 1956, she became the first female doctor in the Army, when she worked in Valley Forge, PA. Later, she became the first female commander of a military hospital at Fort Benjamin Harrison, and by the end of her career she was the first black woman who was chief of psychiatry at both Army and Veterans Administration hospitals. Bowen was awarded the Bronze Star and Legion of Merit in 1971, and the Meritorious Service Medal in 1974.

Bowen House Photos

I guess this one exterior photo is all I got. Oops!

That’s okay, because Bowen is the one I went inside. Lobby with fancy contemporary finishes:

Much different from the dank staircases of Modernist buildings…these have nice large windows:

Study area:

The ends of these dorms have suites, which have a larger room capacity and even include a living room space.

Regular dorm hallway otherwise:

Looking out the floor-to-ceiling window at Raney House:

Busch House History

Busch House was built on the site of Raney Commons, an old dining hall that was used for campus events by the time of its demolition. Like Raney House, it was named after Alice Raney. Busch House is located north of St. Stephen’s, south of Raney and Bowen Houses, east of Barrett House, and west of High Street.

Jon Busch. (One Day for the KIA)

Busch House was named after Jon Busch, an Ohio State student who served in the Vietnam War. He was a member of AFROTC at OSU. On June 8, 1967, his F-4 Phantom was shot down shortly after leaving his base. His remains were found in October 1988, updating his status from MIA.