Union Design Committee 11/17/2008

The Union Design Committee met Monday November 17th to discuss the Info Commons/Technology Lounge, Food Service and Operations, the Percent for Art Program, the Rec. Center and the Student Meetings rooms.

Ideas for the Info Commons and Technology lounge included a potential lap top bar with plenty of outlets as well as available printing and individual work stations throughout the entire building. This was the opening discussion regarding technology in the building; there will be more discussions to follow as the project progresses.

Food Service in the new South Campus Union will include a traditional coffeehouse and wine bar, a market, and individual food kiosks. The coffee house will serve snacks and pastries, the market will have “grab and go” type foods, while the food kiosks will serve three distinctly different cuisines. A chef’s table will be incorporated into the kiosk area to function as a culinary training station.

The Percent for Art Program decided that an integrated piece of art should be incorporated into the new building rather than a statue or a stand-alone piece. At their next meeting on December 12th, the committee intends to select the final artist from the three finalists that were chosen at an earlier date.

Currently the recreational center in the basement of the new South Campus Union is set to have seven billiards tables; discussion arose as to whether or not some of these should be replaced with other games to add variety. One of the original stairwells was removed, opening up approximated 250 square feet of additional space. A television lounge was also added.

Student meeting room discussions focused on the ideas of permanent versus divisible walls, and whether there should be larger spaces for meeting rooms or smaller and midsized meeting rooms.

Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, or concerns regarding the information presented.

The next Union Design Meeting is going to be on Monday December 8th at 5:30 p.m., TITU.

-Stephanie