With construction noises and smells still popping up around campus this week, ongoing work is still rightfully viewed by many students as burdensome, but the completion of some projects is starting to change that annoyance to wonder as we see the benefits of projects. We were able to meet this week with Duke Student Government Vice President of Facilities and Environment Michael Norwalk to discuss the smorgasbord of projects and their reception by and impact on students.
Perhaps the most valuable player of all the construction of the West Union, which should generate no end of excitement for students. It will be an absolutely massive space and likely the center of student activity and social life, along with dining. The first floor will open sometime next semester with the remainder coming Fall 2016.
Another highlight will be the new Student Health and Wellness Center near Penn Pavilion. The 70,000 square-foot center will bring together closely related resources like Student Health, CAPS, Wellness, Duke Reach, a pharmacy, Duke EMS and spaces for mind-body wellness classes. In terms of effect on convenience and daily life, this project will make a big difference for students.
A tucked-away but impactful renovation is Edens, where common rooms and outdoor spaces have been beautified for community building, a yoga studio and small gym have opened and a large gaming center is being finished. Feedback has been immensely positive.
On a different corner of campus, Gross Hall’s basement has been converted from a mechanical space to a project floor of work benches, optics lab and hands-on equipment for engineering projects. The Foundry, as it is named, has its open house today, kicking off the 7,600 square-foot’s opening.
Looking down Towerview from there, the athletic campus’ changes are almost too many to count and include updates to facilities badly in need of modernization. In brief, the football stadium will have lowered seating, a state-of-the-art video board, a special teams practice field, a new entry gate and a new press tower, not to mention the changes to Cameron’s general admissions entrance and the softball field that will come to East Campus.
To a less glamorously received project, the Bryan Center’s glass entrance has been open since the start of the year. Students have questioned the general point of the renovation along with its excessive cost, but at least design-wise, it will coordinate well with the other plaza-side projects once completed.
One future project to be excited about is the massive 68,000 square-foot Arts Center planned for Campus Drive across from The Nasher that will have large-scale facilities like painting, video production and dance studios along with the radio station and a theater for performances. This building will give the dance, theater and Art of the Moving Image programs a proper home and spaces all their own, creating the hub for all arts production on campus.
Though your panorama shot of main quad from the bus stop may not be flawless anytime soon, campus will be a much more perfect version of itself soon enough. The donations and funds that make these renovations possible are largely paying off for the student experience, and we expect enthusiasm to grow over time. Campus will appeal to future students who want spaces promoting academic and social excellence. Although the recession pushed back many projects, it is only a matter of time until the spirit of campus is changed and students given all the more reason to pay a return visit down the road.
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