The days of the aging EMU are numbered. A $28.7 million remodeling plan will completely change the facility, according to plans presented at Wednesday’s EMU Board meeting.
“There has been a tremendous student growth in the last 10 years,” EMU Director Dusty Miller said. “The EMU has become more active as a hub.”
The problem is that a large portion of the building is still stuck in 70s. The EMU is designed to be the central area where students congregate, so the EMU Board decided to form the University Core Team to decide how to change the structure. The team, a group of 12 students, three faculty members and one member of the EMU staff, has been responsible for designing a mission statement that will guide future development of the EMU. The team hired MHTN Architects, a Salt Lake City firm that specializes in the design of university student unions, and together, MHTN and the Core Team performed a three-phase study which has become the EMU Master Plan.
“We want this to be the most inclusive master plan ever,” Miller said.
To make sure the plan was inclusive and students had a say in the process, the team began conducting an Internet survey of University
students and faculty to evaluate and modify the team’s original mission statement. The survey received 511 student and 897 total responses and indicated broad support for the team’s initial vision. They used the survey results and trips to other universities, such as University of Colorado, Colorado State, University of Arizona and Arizona State, to produce a finalized mission statement.
The team then focused on determining what the University and community needed. The group conducted another Internet survey, a week of meetings with University focus groups and multiple Eugene town hall meetings. It then prioritized 10 major goals for the EMU redesign, such as creating a single organizing or thematic element throughout the building, establishing four clear and visible main entrances and creating a floor plan flexible enough to accommodate all University and community groups.
Finally, the team collected information from more than 20 one-on-one interviews and then compiled the two years’ worth of feedback into a final plan.
The plan highlights conceptual design principles from the renovation of the mezzanine level to the complete reconstruction of the East Wing and outlines a 48-month, four-phase construction plan to make the recommendations a reality.
“I am really pleased at how this has turned out. I think this sets us up really well for the future,” EMU Board Chairwoman and Core Team member Christa Shively said.
The EMU Master Plan recommends several major alterations to the building. The most visible changes would be rendered to the section of the building designed in the early 1970s that includes the winding ramp and skylight areas. This portion, called the East Wing, will be torn down and replaced with a larger U-shaped structure during the final two construction phases. The new area will also be partially extended over the east side lawn.
“There were some people opposed to it,” Miller said, referring to the decision to rebuild the East Wing. “It’s not that I don’t appreciate the aesthetics of (the current structure). I am looking at function.”
The plan seeks to improve space efficiency by up to 10 percent. In addition to the new East Wing, much of the new space will come from an expansion to the existing ballroom. The new ballroom will extended out above the southeast parking lot to the Straub Quad. This new ballroom could be partitioned off to form up to three smaller meeting rooms and would also include a new entrance and ticketing area.
The placement of facilities and an overall layout redesign are also recommended in the plan. In the new EMU, all meeting and conference rooms would be located on the second floor, with the third floor dedicated to administrative offices. Plans for the ground floor include the potential for 24-hour access, including an all-hours computer lab, extension of The Break hours, and around-the-clock access to Craft Center resources.
While the plan calls for the elimination of the striking 70s section of the building, the new East Wing will not be without a visual landmark. In the interests of maintaining the EMU’s character and aesthetic appeal, the Master Plan calls for the creation of a two-and-a-half story atrium intended to serve as a hub of student activity in the building.
“The indoor atrium will be a crossroads,” Miller said. “It’s going to be big, it’s going to be wide, it’s going to be bold.”
The overall redesign is projected to increase the square footage of the EMU by 50,000 square feet, or nearly 20 percent. With the addition of staff salary costs and other factors, the completed project could run a tab of $42 million.
The plan isn’t ready yet. If the designs are approved at the next EMU Board meeting, there will still be chances for more public input. Even then, the EMU will have to solicit bids on the project before any work actually starts.
“Construction probably won’t begin until 2006 at the earliest,” Shively said.
Those interested in learning more about the Master Plan’s recommendations are invited to attend an open house next week in Century Room F of the EMU from noon to 2 p.m. on Wednesday and 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday.