Planning a New Student Center
A central hub that fosters community
Manchester-Pruitt is the recommended site for the new student center:
Rationale:
- Expansion of the Campus Core: The site is equal distance from Reynolda Hall as the ZSR Library; locating the Student Center here will expand the heart of the campus.
- Proximity to the Wellbeing Center: Benefit of high traffic and complementary services.
- Greater Site Capacity: Offers ample space to accommodate future growth and create synergies across various campus initiatives.
- Reduced Truck Traffic: The site shifts service access away from Manchester Quad and residence halls.
- Design Flexibility: Greater freedom in terms of size and architectural expression, allowing for dynamic multi-height spaces and large amounts of glazing, like Farrell Hall.
- Future Potential for Tribble: Allows redevelopment to support growth, The demolition of Tribble Hall moves to the end of the phasing sequence, providing more flexibility.
Opportunities for the new student center
Dining: Current dining space in the Benson University Center and Reynolda Hall are overcrowded and inadequate. Dining is an essential piece of any successful student hub; bringing students to the building and promoting interactions.
Transformational Student Experience: The Benson University Center lacks openness and dynamic gathering space – a new student center provides an opportunity for a vibrant student hub and to expand the campus core.
Strategic Adjacencies: Spaces that support student needs are currently spread between buildings, creating barriers to collaboration and inequities between resources.