An information desk, fireplaces, solar panels, a duck pond, better signs and more parking are just a few of the ideas suggested by University representatives and registered architects during the first stage of the renovation project in store for the University’s 52-year-old student union.
The EMU Master Plan, hatched among EMU administrators, will determine how the building can best support students and the campus community during the next 20 years through a new vision and recommended adjustments in organization, accessibility and appeal.
During the first stage, the project’s core team — a group of 10 University building users, faculty and students from the EMU Board has been seeking input on the goals, qualities and characteristics for a re-designed EMU.
The project team — a trio of selectively chosen architects hired to head the Master Plan — has already hosted a series of focus groups, town meetings and online surveys during the past few weeks and plans to continue them as part of “Consensus Building,” the brainstorming and discussion stage in the process.
“We plan on being finished with the draft report in December,” said Sarah Miller, a project team member and the architect in charge of pre-design and programming for the project.
Miller specializes in pre-design work at institutions of higher education and has a combined background in architecture and interior design.
“Essentially, we are providing a preliminary guide for growth, which will be presented to the University core team in January,” she said.
Through the next three stages of the process — “Programming Definition,” “Concept Definition” and “Development of Documentation” — the project team will work to prepare the presentation and the final report to obtain approval for the project.
“We’re not at the sexy part,” EMU Director Dusty Miller said. “We’re simply defining the vision and goals of the project at this point.”
The “sexy part,” as he defined it, will come when the project team has fully conceptualized the plan. At that time, they will begin to ask organizations, businesses and offices in the EMU what they need in terms of space and convenience of location, he said. But that stage won’t follow until mid to late October, Sarah Miller said.
The Core Team’s draft of the Master Plan mission statement is organized by 13 topics and concerns. Among the list of topics, community, “way-finding” and technology have evoked the most discussion in town meetings and student groups.
“This project has a uniqueness to it that we all sensed in the selection process,” project team design architect Stephen Bennion said. “There is a very intense user involvement here … a lot of care, which is very interesting because it poses a challenge and demands a greater effort.”
During the discussion on community, Core Team members and community members in attendance talked about the “homey” addition of fireplaces, much like the natural and colorful flare added by the fish pond located in the EMU Food Court.
In the discussion on way-finding, a topic encompassing issues related to accessibility and the layout of the building, one recommendation that has been made is to create an information desk to add a “human touch”. Community members suggested more parking to increase accessibility and recommended better signs to prevent a “maze” feeling in the building.
While discussing technology and how the University has changed during the past five decades, core team members suggested placing solar panels in the EMU Amphitheater and improving Internet availability and accessibility throughout the facility, possibly through “cyber stations or cafes.”
“This process is about what this university is about,” said Jeffrey Stebar, the third architect of the project team trio. “It’s the University of Oregon solution.”
Despite their common goal of improving the EMU over the next two decades, Dusty Miller and Sarah Miller don’t quite agree on what the most enticing part of the Master Plan process is.
“I think the sexy part is the planning,” Sarah Miller said.
Town meetings will be held next fall for all students, faculty and staff who have suggestions for the project. For a list of all the mission statement areas, visit the EMU Web site at emu.uoregon.edu and click on EMU Master Plan.