The purpose of this study was to find out which environmental characteristics influence student satisfaction and which can be altered or affected by architectural design. A questionnaire was designed which measured overall student satisfaction, as well as satisfaction with 25 specific environmental variables. The object was to evaluate the need for various architectural features in residence hall design by comparing satisfaction with the individual architectural feature with overall satisfaction with the total living environment. Nine hundred and fifty students living in 43 residence halls on 8 campuses completed the questionnaire. The results indicated that student satisfaction or dissatisfaction with a particular architectural variable did not affect overall satisfaction with the total housing environment appreciably. The best predictor of overall student satisfaction was residence hall type, with students who do not consider their residence hall to be a dormitory the most satisfied. (Author/AF)