Update on Academic Commons project
10-03-06 meetings
Architects from DesignGroup met with Facilities Operations staff, Academic Commons committee members, and Circulation Department staff members at a full day of meetings on Tuesday October 3rd. There were wide-ranging discussions of the architects’ preliminary designs and how well they incorporate programmatic ideas brought forth so far in our planning process. These include, on the main level of Mudd:
- the close physical integration of Circulation, Reserve, and ILL services
- the creation of a café near the current periodicals and newspapers
- the creation of several group study and tutoring spaces that can be used for a variety of learning support functions
- the creation of a flexible electronic classroom space
- a multi-media computer lab space
- a new space for the Student Computing Services Center
- the redeployment of numerous workstations from the A-Level computing lab to the main level
- a significant increase in the amount of comfortable furniture and study space on the main level
Various options for addressing these needs are indicated in the following three plans:
- Scheme A locates the reference collection in the southwest corner of the building. The periodicals and newspaper area is located in front of the café space.
- Scheme B locates the reference collection on low shelving along the west wall, while the café extends along all of the windows of the current periodicals area.
- Scheme C houses the reference collection on tall ranges in by the west machine room and stairwell and it includes an open multimedia area.
Committee members asked DesignGroup to work on options to:
- create a glass wall enclosing both the caf é and current periodicals area, without a wall separating the two spaces
- move accessible restrooms to south wall of building in a location above current A-Level staff restrooms
- refine circulation/ILL/reserve workspace based on staff feedback
- reorient electronic classroom and multi-media lab space
- plan for flexible furniture arrangement in the café so that no additional infrastructure is needed to clear a space that can be used on occasion for presentations or performances.
On October 6 Design Group sent the following revised floor plans, with tentative furniture layouts:
- Scheme C1 locates the multimedia area in an alcove to the west of the electronic classroom.
- Scheme C2 places the multimedia lab in an open area adjacent to the classroom.
The architects also sent on that same day the following floor plan for the Circulation, Reserve, and Interlibrary Loan area:
DesignGroup architects will be working throughout the month of October on these and other refinements to the schematic design of the Academic Commons. On Tuesday October 31st the architects will again meet on campus with committee and staff members. There will also be open meetings for various campus constituencies. The Academic Commons Planning Committee's goal continues to be to make a presentation of the schematic design to the Board of Trustees in December and obtain approval to move forward to construct the Academic Commons in the summer of 2007.