Association of University Architects
1998 Case Study Awards Program

Page 3

By the early 1970s the campus had experienced huge growth. With a student body in excess of 15,000, it was time to enlarge the student union. Because the building separated the academic and residential sections of the campus, the building's lobby had become a thoroughfare for the 4,000 or so on-campus residents as they walked to and from classes. In response to the problem and at the same time the original building was expanded, a new route was created literally under the old building. This particularly clever solution had the unintended result of effectively ending the viability of the free-speech platform. What had begun as a gently sloping lawn where students lounged and listened to their peers was replaced by a wide sidewalk that had all the charm of a 1970s work of architecture.

By the mid-1990s, after the student population peaked at 18,500, the University had settled into its current size of 16,500. While none of these students remembered the days of the free-speech platform, many longed for a space to exchange ideas (and music) with each other. More importantly the students had become politically active as well, winning accolades as one of the country's most political student bodies in recognition of their high numbers of registered voters. Meanwhile, the look of the 1970s underpass had become dated and surrounding trees had grown to the point where what little Oregon sun there was could not penetrate to the ground. The passageway was a dark, damp place that students wished to pass through as quickly as possible.

The student-body president approached our office with an idea to spend some unrestricted student funds to build a new free-speech platform somewhere in the area. This first conversation resulted in a project that became known as the student union amphitheater. This space is capable of containing a crowd of 1,200 for an event and serves as an informal gathering area, too. It was expressly designed with universal access in mind, and all of its areas are accessible by those in wheelchairs. Its main space is moved as far north as possible to take full advantage of the sun and to bring the activities as close as possible to the intersection. The brick podium "free-speech" platform has been reinstalled in a prominent position and served at the dedication of the space as the podium for descendants of Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi.

The rejuvenation of this space into one that supports the building of communities is a lesson for all campus architects on understanding the importance of our core values as we design the spaces intended to support our institutions.