West Union is going to look very different come 2015, but students will have a role in its evolution.
Detailed renovation plans of the West Union Building include a completely revamped student life center as well as the creation of an events pavilion, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said. The plans—which are not yet publicly released—are preliminary, Moneta said, adding that finalized details and architectural blueprints do not yet exist.
According to a PowerPoint presentation obtained by The Chronicle, West Union construction will begin July 2013 and will be completed July 2015.
“It’s a very ambitious project,” said Duke Student Government President Pete Schork, a senior. “The core of the project is to provide a venue for undergraduates to congregate and build community.”
The project is entirely funded by a $80 million gift by the Charlotte-based Duke Endowment announced March 7. The gift was the single largest philanthropic gift in the University’s history.
The union expands
The renovation project involves tearing out the core of West Union and constructing a glass four-level center, Moneta said, adding that the structure will be similar to the von der Heyden Pavilion in Perkins Library. The traditional architecture of the historic three legs of West Union—where the Great Hall, Alpine Bagels and the Alumni Lounge are currently housed—will remain untouched.
The new West Union will feature a greater amount of dining and student meeting space. Currently there is space for about 600 students to dine and 100 students to meet and interact in West Union. After construction is completed, there will be dining space for 900 students and meeting space for more than 700 students.
Along with housing the Faculty Commons and Plate and Pitchfork eatery, the renovated second floor will also feature private dining rooms—ideal for houses to dine together after the house model is implemented in Fall 2012, Moneta said. The top floor will also include a demonstration kitchen where cooking lessons can take place.
The first floor will continue to house most of the Union’s dining options—including the Great Hall.
The basement will feature more than 10,000 square feet of space for students to meet in what administrators envision as a “Link-like space” for student life.
A newly excavated sub-basement will include a pub and activity area with table tennis and pool tables, as well as student group storage space. The pub and student areas will be situated near Union Service Drive, alongside Kilgo residence hall.
A new pavilion
Administrators knew they needed a replacement dining facility during West Union construction but were unsure about where or what it would be.
Moneta said administrators initially considered a tent but decided to create a more permanent structure—currently referred to as an events pavilion—adjacent to the Bryan Center.
The construction of the pavilion will begin June 2012, according to the PowerPoint titled “West Campus Precinct Planning.” The pavilion will be completed July 2013.
The Board of Trustees approved the events pavilion and the selection of an architect in its September meeting, Moneta said. The approximately 8,000 sq.-foot pavilion will house displaced eateries for two years during construction and will be repurposed later into an event space where 400 students will be able to meet at once.
Collecting input
Four working groups will collect input for relevant student interests pertaining to the West Union renovation, Moneta said. The four groups include one for the Center for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Life, one for the Mary Lou Williams Center for Black Culture, one for dining and one for student activities and events.
Moneta said he is eager to work with students who frequent the LGBT Center and Mary Lou Center to create a vision for the spaces moving forward, given that both centers will be displaced after West Union construction begins.
“This is bigger than ‘where do we stick something?’” Moneta said. “This is really a fantastic opportunity to review all of our successes and think about what else would propel [the LGBT Center and the Mary Lou Center] to the next level.”
He said work with the LGBT and black student working groups will last about six months. During this time, the working groups will discuss their visions for the future and work with an architect to figure out what type of square footage and location would best accommodate the new centers.
Senior Ari Bar-Mashiah, president of Blue Devils United and a student employee of the LGBT Center, said he discussed the importance of LGBT student involvement with Moneta, adding that he is optimistic that the administration is so open to working together with students.
“I’m really happy that the administration is taking a bottom-up approach as opposed to them dictating, ‘Oh, this is what you will need,’” Bar-Mashiah said. “It’s so important to get student input into the process. Only current LGBT students understand how the center has been operating so far and the needs of our community.”
One of the major goals for the LGBT community will be to find a space that allows growth, Bar-Mashiah said. He noted that one of the center’s events—Fabulous Fridays—had at most 10 students in attendance in 2008, but this year he said it is not uncommon for 50 to 70 students to come.
“I’m confident that the new center will be better than this one if [the planning process] includes student input,” Bar-Mashiah said.
Senior Nana Asante, president of Black Student Alliance, a group that often meets in the Mary Lou Center, said she has not yet met with Moneta and declined to comment further.
Schork said he and other DSG officials are pleased that the administration is allowing direct student input, especially since the LGBT and black community centers were not consulted regarding their removal from the West Union Building.
“This is both an opportunity and also a necessity for the affected communities to have ownership over their future spaces so [the spaces] are something they’re satisfied with,” Schork said. “It’s something we all have to be mindful about throughout this process since [student input] has been constricted so far.”
Moneta said the dining working group will begin meeting soon, due to the short amount of time before events pavilion construction starts. He added that the student activities working group is less urgent than the other working groups because it is the least time-sensitive.
DSG and Moneta will host a West Union information session in the Von Canon meeting rooms in the Bryan Center Thursday at 7:30 p.m.
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