Tile in a hallway

About the project

The University of South Florida serves over 48,000 students across its three campuses. As one of only three Florida state-designated ‘Preeminent’ universities and member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, USF attracts a diverse student population from every state and over 146 countries. The Tampa campus, boasting over 1,500 acres and 250 buildings, has been recognized as a top performer in campus sustainability.

In late 2020, the University broke ground on the new Judy Genshaft Honors College, named in honor of the university’s former president. Serving about 2,300 Honors College students on the Tampa campus, the $56 million 86,000 square-foot building includes open classrooms, signature learning lofts, and dedicated art, food and culture, music, and technology studio spaces.

Design teams at the University of South Florida, Fleischman Garcia Maslowski Architects, and Morphosis Architects created a unique facility that will serve talented students and faculty fostering interdisciplinary learning and creativity across multiple academic fields in the arts, social sciences, natural sciences, and humanities. The ground floor features a large gathering space for events and a six-story atrium lined with ‘learning lofts’, small sitting areas for individual study or collaborative work. The teams designed the interior café space to create an atmosphere in which all students are welcome, allowing Honors College students to mix and mingle with students from all academic areas.

The design team in conjunction with USF chose Crossville Studios tile collections for the floors, walls, and stairs in various spaces throughout the vast Honors College facility.

For the level one floor and stairs, the team chose Crossville Studios' Velvet collection in gray. Offering the look and feel of luxurious marble, Velvet provides designers with realistic veins, reliefs, grooves, and organic structures that allow the senses of sight and touch to converge in a high-performance porcelain tile. Additionally, the team chose the Velvet Sticks in white for the restroom vestibules and the stairway walls providing a modern texture to beautifully complement the floors.

For the café, the Buddy Brew Coffee shop, and the food and culture studio on the fifth floor, the team chose Crossville Studios’ 60 Degree collection. Selecting the Wood Mid hue, the high-performance tile was installed in a stunning chevron pattern pairing beautifully with the dark green accents and providing an elongated look to these spaces.

The new Judy Genshaft Honors College building will proudly serve thousands of the nation’s most talented students for years to come. With Crossville Studios’ collections throughout, the new design visually sets the stage for and aligns with the modern approach to the collaborative honors programs that the University of South Florida offers tomorrow’s leaders.