Those involved with the Union renovation project hope to createa more student-focused Union, but construction this summer is minorcompared to the extensive construction planned for the future.
Ken Bueche, associate director for Union operations, said theUnion has plans to renovate both the Information Center and the twoadjacent meeting rooms — the Acadian and Feliciana rooms — overthe summer.
“We did not want to totally stop work on the Union,” Buechesaid. “We wanted to continue to improve.”
Bueche said Union workers will also replace its original waterfountains over the summer as well.
Shirley Plakidas, Union director, said the Union staff willcontinue on these small projects until major construction begins inearly 2006.
But the Union renovation fee students adopted in April 2003 isnot funding these minor renovations.
“The [Union renovation fee] will be what covers the additionalsquare feet and the renovation of the existing two-thirds,”Plakidas said. “The other projects are just a prelude.”
Construction as part of the major renovation will not beginuntil early 2006. But the project still is in motion.
Currently, the Union is in what planners are calling “PhaseIII.”
Paul Knell, senior principal with WTW Architects, who will behandling much of the renovation, said this phase consists ofschematic design, design development and final constructiondrawings.
“We are developing on the ideas we already had,” Knell said.
The Union Renovation and Construction Project consist of fourphases. Phase I consisted of requesting interests and contactingarchitects. Phase II involved facility assessment and conceptualplans. The final phase is Phase IV, which is the actualconstruction.
Bueche said the building needed to be updated as part ofcompliance with current codes as well as for aesthetic reasons.
The Union is currently not up to standards for disability accessin several areas and several areas needed to be updated to complywith current fire codes.
Knell said he hopes to give the union a new more energeticlook.
“There will be a lot of new lighting, new architecture, and newcirculation patterns in the building to help to create a moredynamic energy in the building,” Knell said.
Knell said his major goal was to create a center for studentleadership and organizations on campus.
“There were only a couple of organizations in the currentbuilding, and we asked, ‘Where are all the student clubs andorganizations?'” Knell said.
Currently, only Student Government and the Union ProgrammingCouncil are housed in the Union, but officials hope to house manymore student organizations.
Shirley Plakidas said even if it is just a mailbox, eachorganization will have a place in the third and fourth floor of thenew southeast addition.
The southeast addition will replace the existing outdoor patioof the Tiger Lair along Highland Road and South Campus Drive.
The southeast addition will house the Student Senate, while theexecutive branch of SG will move to on the first floor.
SG President Brad Golson said this is in keeping with one ofSG’s own proposals.
“Due to the conflict of interests and the way the branchesoperate, they must be separate,” Golson said. “It is important thatwe are two separate branches to achieve checks and balances.”
Golson said having the executive branch on the first floor willmake them more accessible to students.
“Students won’t have to climb three floors to find their electedvoice,” Golson said.
Tammy Sam, Union Board president, said the new studentorganization area will give student organizations a better chanceto network.
“It will not only help students, but the organizations and thecampus has a whole,” Sam said. “It’s really a great idea.”
Plakidas said the new southeast addition will give students wholive in residence halls on the east side of campus access to thebuilding without having to walk around the exterior.
Plakidas and Knell both said students have been involved at allstages of the renovation process.
“I think [students] have been very, very involved,” Knell said.”Go back two years and there was a campus-wide survey that wasconducted online of student needs and goals and those needs andgoals now have been translated into floor plans.”
Knell said any student on campus can come and take a look atwhat is going on through open forums. Knell said there will beanother open forum held in July.
But Golson said though open forums were held, he is unsure ifthe Union informed students well enough of their existence.
“They have offered several forums for any student to attend,”Golson said. “I don’t know that students were informed of it to theextent that it could have been, but I do know they were held. Idon’t know that there was enough [done] to get students aware ofwhat was going on.”
Golson said he had sat in on meetings with architects as well ashad meetings with Plakidas during his term as president and priorto his term as a member of the SG executive staff.
Golson said he hopes the new Union reflects student needs.
“It is always an ongoing question — is this really what is bestfor the students and what the students want,” Golson said.