On Sept. 9, after spending the 2025-26 academic year offline, Stewart Hall welcomed its 69th class of first years, receiving a long-overdue energy and accessibility makeover. The original 1956 super structure still stands, only now it includes quality-of-life upgrades from new furniture to water fountains on every floor. Additional renovations included added gender-neutral bathrooms, a regraded accessible entrance, an elevator, air-conditioning and geothermal heating.
All windows were replaced and a new HVAC system was installed, helping the college progress further towards its Energy 2028 efficiency objectives.
Stewart is the first 100% geothermally heated building on campus, meaning it no longer relies on the college’s district steam system for heating and cooling. Instead, geothermal heat pumps will use thermal energy from the earth’s crust to maintain building temperature. Stewart's energy upgrade follows similar efficiency and sustainability-oriented renovations in Munroe Hall, Warner Hall and the Christian A. Johnson Memorial Building.
The dormitory’s inauguration came at the start of this past summer, when it hosted summer language students of the Hebrew school. As of Sept., 126 members of the class of 2030, six residential assistants (RAs) and four Residential Life (ResLife) offices –– including the central administrative team –– now officially call it home.
Both of the building’s lounges have received major renovations, notably a new batch of furniture. On the first floor lounge — formerly the second floor since the numbering has shifted — the old ceiling was torn down to expose the building’s original steel beams, opening up the space along the angle of the roof. The new “Pit,” a second lounge on floor zero — previously the first floor — has been described as “unrecognizable” by former residents.
“The old Pit had a more rugged type of feel, like no one really cared about it,” former resident Max Korenbaum ’28 said.
“[Before the renovations] it was just in the basement, there was no air going around, the kitchen was always dirty,” Odette Castillo ’27, who lived in Stewart her sophomore year as an RA, said in an interview with The Campus. “It was just not a nice place to be in.”
At the end of the 2024 fall semester, the ResLife team had to lock the kitchen in the Pit due to “consistent uncleanliness,” according to an email to residents. The original Pit featured a small recreation room with an old ping pong and foosball table, and a small walled-off kitchen in the inner corner. The space now features an accessibility ramp, a fresh coat of teal paint accompanied by wainscoting panels and a new kitchen setup with an island with stools by the windows.
The old furniture of the building has been replaced with new chairs and couches, including a large, orange U-shaped sofa. Manager of Office Moves and Furniture Distribution Abby Lovshin-Smith, in partnership with the ResLife team, was behind the furniture choices.
“Choosing furniture with no direction can be very overwhelming, so I thought, 'what story am I trying to tell?'” Lovshin-Smith said in an interview with The Campus. “The answer to that was –– the furniture should be bright, happy and comfortable, with nods to the mid-century modern vibes from the original 1956 opening.”
“I worked closely with the Res Life team who was an amazing partner to me, and very clear with their vision for student spaces. They wanted color, comfort and soft fabrics. With those criteria, I pulled some furniture styles and fabric options and together we made selections that felt good for the new Stew,” Vivshin-Smith said.
Another major change was the replacement of each floor’s single-gendered communal bathrooms with more private stalls, each with its own toilet, sink and shower. The shift has allowed for the building’s traditionally single-gendered floors to be — with the exception of the first floor — mixed-gendered.
“I really like how the bathrooms are inclusive,” Reece Frederick, residential director for Painter, Starr, Language Houses and Stewart, said in an interview with The Campus.
Although new residents appreciate the new look, upperclassmen still reflect fondly on the original hall.
“You could tell that it needed some love and a bit of a facelift. Even though different aspects of the dorm weren't the best, i.e. bathrooms and laundry, it felt homey. Having the ping pong table in the Pit was a huge help in building connections between first years,” Faysal Hagi ’28, a current Stewart RA and former resident of the original Stewart, wrote in a message to The Campus.
Changes to both lounges have created opportunities but also tensions. The foosball and ping pong tables have not been replaced.
“I think the best part of [the Pit] was the ping pong table. [It] really brought together the community. I think that was one of my favorite parts of freshman year playing there,” Korenbaum commented.
Stewart Hall still lacks the plethora of common spaces available in renovated Battell. Macallister Graham ’30, a Stewart resident, in an interview with the Campus, mentioned the centrality of Stew’s location as a bonus, but lamented “that the Battell common area is easier to hangout in and there are more communal spaces. Our [Stewart] communal spaces are out of the way so less people use them.”
“After the renovation, it feels like that ‘at home feeling’ has more or less gone away. It doesn't feel like the Stewart I walked away from at the end of freshman year. It still holds all the memories, but it’s not the same. These new first years have the best facilities to work with and I hope they can make their own memories of Stewart,” Hagi wrote.
Met Ly '28 (he/him) is a News Editor.
Met is a UWC Davis Scholar majoring in International Politics and Economics with a Creative Writing minor. He is also a fellow at the Rohatyn Center for Global Affairs. He hails from Siem Reap, Cambodia and spent his gap year there as a digital marketing manager and events coordinator. Outside the newsroom, he line dances in his cowboy boots and jams out to the Arctic Monkeys.
