The eight-building complex, which was designed by I. M. Pei and Partners, contains fifty-eight apartments for 220 students. Each unit includes a living and dining area, outside balcony, kitchen, bath, and, typically, four study-bedrooms. Six of the apartments, with single large bedrooms, are for student married couples.
Set in a naturally wooded landscape on the western edge of the main campus, the interdependent halls are arranged along a diagonal axis extending south from Pyne Hall and Dillon Gymnasium in such a way as to preserve vistas and to provide pleasant spaces between Spelman and its neighbors. An innovative use of pre-cast concrete slabs, glass, and light enabled the architects to integrate the eight buildings into an architecturally varied campus, according to one observer, ``in an elegant, respectful, and restrained manner.''
In 1977, Spelman Halls was given an honor award by the American Institute of Architects as a ``distinguished accomplishment in architecture.''