| |
|
|
from the issue of September 27, 2007
|
| |
|
|
| |
Multicultural center plan presented
BY TROY FEDDERSON, UNIVERSITY COMMUNICATIONS
Plans for the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center are in play.
| | NEW DESIGN - The new design of the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center includes a clerestory to let in natural light (round structure on the roof) and a piano curve linking the second floor with the east side of the Nebraska Union. The center was designed by the DLR Group, working with two UNL committees. DLR Group/courtesy photo.
| |
Presented during a Sept. 26 progress report in the Culture Center, the plans outline the exterior look and interior space allocation in the $8.7 million, 30,000-square-foot project.
"This project has evolved from what was originally proposed and we presented Option No. 24 during the Sept. 26 open house," said Charles Francis, director of the Nebraska Unions. "There are a lot of people who feel ownership for this building and the programs that will go on there. We've tried to incorporate as many ideas as possible to make the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center be something everyone on campus will be proud of."
When completed, the center will provide expanded office space for the Office of Academic Support and Intercultural Services, other student groups that provide services for minority students, historically black Greek organizations, and other student organizations.
"This truly is a project that is unique," said Jamar Banks, director of OASIS and the Culture Center. "We are expanding the Nebraska Union while embracing the fact that we want to expose ourselves as a university that prizes diversity in every sense.
"And, by expanding the space available, OASIS is going to be able to do more things and better promote multicultural education on campus."
The three-story structure will link to the east façade of the Nebraska Union. The construction will mimic the collegiate Georgian features of the Union, topped with a clerestory that will provide natural light into the structure.
A "piano curve" walkway will link the second floors of the Gaughan Multicultural Center and the Nebraska Union. A walkway will allow foot traffic to flow under the link, between the Nebraska Union, the Multicultural Center and the Nebraska State Historical Society.
The first floor will include an open entrance, similar to the rotunda in the Nebraska Union, lighted primarily by light from the clerestory. The floor will also include office space (primarily for OASIS), restrooms and display areas.
The second floor will include the connection to the Nebraska Union, meeting space, a kitchen, lounge areas (including a large area along the all glass link), and a study room.
The third floor will be mainly office space, with a small lounge and a music/conference room. The top floor will also include the Kawasaki Reading Room, which will relocate from the 11th floor of Oldfather Hall.
Money was provided by Kawasaki Motors Corp. for the project. The reading room will recognize Japanese culture and language, housing a number of printed materials and artifacts.
Banks said a groundbreaking is scheduled for the summer. Construction is slated to finish fall 2009, with the Jackie D. Gaughan Multicultural Center opening in spring 2010.
The multicultural center will be named in honor of Gaughan. A gift, announced April 13, was provided by Gaughan's family and presented by his grandson, John Gaughan, a 1988 graduate of the UNL College of Business Administration.
An Omaha native, Jackie Gaughan is known in the hotel and entertainment industry for being one of the first employers in Las Vegas to encourage diverse hiring practices.
Students, who voted in March 2006 to move forward with the project, are providing half of the cost of the center. The vote increased student fees by $12 per semester beginning in 2009 to assist with the project.
To assure the project include student needs, an earlier open house was held to solicit ideas and students were involved on the multicultural center planning committees.
When completed, the building will be a "green" building. Planners expect it to earn at least silver rating from the federal Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design program. The LEED program is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. For more information, go online to www.usgbc.org.
"This has really been a great team effort," Banks said. "Everyone has worked together, from the architects to the committee members, to come up with a great building concept that will serve future generations of UNL students.
"We still have a number of hoops to jump through. But, I think we'll find this building was worth the wait."
To see the plans, click here.
GO TO: ISSUE OF SEPTEMBER 27
NEWS HEADLINES FOR SEPTEMBER 27
Bovine 3D
Multicultural center plan presented
Slide curator guides collection into digital world
Parents to converge on campus for Oct. 5-7 events
Verbatem
732946S37329X
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
