Thurs., March 29 the Campus Center Planning Committee hosted a student feedback event displaying the mock-up of the campus center exterior wall at its future location next to Sage Hall.
The committee, made up of students and faculty, showcased different types of granite blocks so that students could compare their differences in size and color.
About 30 students were present at the beginning of the event to write comments on the sheets provided and to partake in free pizza. Refreshments were provided by the Campus Center Planning Committee to encourage more student involvement.
Student input into planning the campus center is important for many reasons.
Junior Nathan Litt, one of the two student representatives in planning the campus center, said, “This is a residential campus. Most of us are required to live here, so it’s important to have a say in the design of buildings we see each day.”
The various stones of the mock wall strongly resembled the exteriors of many other buildings on campus, including Sage Hall and buildings on the fraternity quad. This resemblance was purposeful, meant to create a sense of continuity across campus and render the age difference of the buildings less evident.
In contrast to this plan, Wriston Art Center was designed years ago to differ from other campus buildings, as committee members saw the need to create a more avant-garde building look.
All of the examples of the wall’s potential granite stone had a rough exterior, although many displayed subtly different color shades and lengths. There were different tints of red coloring on some stones, while others more fully displayed a traditional gray.
One of the students in attendance, freshman Yang Hu, preferred a longer and thinner stone because of its stability, as opposed to smaller stones, which could appear superfluous.
Other students, including senior Paul Karner, were more interested by the question of space allocation rather than the future color and composition of the exterior. Professor of Music Kenneth Bozeman brought up this issue as well, citing some of the campus center’s future uses for the performing arts.
Some plans have been discussed that include the special acoustic dynamic for piano performances and projected multimedia presentations. As a longtime observer of new buildings on campus during his 30-year tenure, Bozeman spoke highly of the overall campus center design.
The interior of the campus center will be more modern than the other campus buildings, complete with high roofs, more open spaces, and more glass windows to expand the river view.
All floors of the future center will have a view of the river, with space twice as long as the current Riverview Lounge in the Memorial Union.
This round of gathering student input is certainly not the last.
As with the previous campus center chair display, the mock-up wall event also featured its own questionnaire, and others are promised to follow.
Litt and senior student representative Peter Bennett will host future events in which, for example, the tones of wood in different parts of the center will be debated.
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