Vol. 38, No. 18

1-23-2008
By: Adam King

Ohio Union takes shape -- on paper

The Ohio Union is still more than two years away from being completed, but new details have created a clearer picture of what it will look like and how it will function.

First and foremost, it will be a modern and “green” building as it seeks Leadership in Environment and Energy Design (LEED) certification. But the students on the planning team wanted to make sure the union kept a traditional feel. So instead of metal and new-age architecture, a red brick and limestone facade will greet visitors entering from High Street or College Road.

The stone reliefs that adorned the previous union on the High Street side will become part of the new three-story building on the 12th Avenue side. Also making the transition will be the ballroom floors, which will be relocated to the new Woody’s Pub, one of the holdover establishments from the previous union. The new fireplaces will be built using stone from the previous ones, and sandstone from the old patios will be placed into the new courtyard.

Everything else in the $115 million project will be new, and a virtual video “fly-through” of the facility’s renderings at ohiounion.osu.edu gives an artist’s glimpse of what’s to come.

The union has coordinated with South Campus Gateway to ensure there is no overlap of services or merchants. As an example, a movie theater was at first envisioned being a part of the new union, but the Drexel Gateway Theater changed those plans.

“We met with Gateway once a month during the design phase to coordinate plans,” said Tracy Stuck, director of the Ohio Union. “The look of our building complements their look. Our building won’t be on a hill anymore, it will be street-level, so it will have a more consistent feel when you walk down High Street.

“From a food perspective, we put our offerings on the campus side of our building and decided to have no branding or vending competition with the restaurants in Gateway. When we open, we want it to be one big, happy family.”

Stuck said the planning team also wanted to make certain that when people entered the building, there would be no doubt that they were anywhere but Ohio and Ohio State. The team visited numerous student unions around the country, and the biggest complaint was they were overly generic.

The Ohio Union will be anything but cookie-cutter. Everything in the building will bring to life the history of the state and the university and celebrate both in different ways:

The first floor will house Sloopy’s, the dining marketplace, a convenience store, Woody’s Pub, an 800-seat performance hall, a 350-seat conference theater, two courtyards, a ticket and information center, an Alumni Association satellite office and the Multicultural Center.

The second floor will have two ballrooms (including the second-largest in Columbus at 18,000 square feet), meeting rooms, student organization offices, a 125-seat senate chamber, the central lounge, Student Activities staff and the Center for Student Leadership and Service, where students can find leadership and community service opportunities.

More student organizations and meeting rooms will be on the third floor along with a commuter lounge, Off Campus Student Services, the Buck ID office, an Interfaith Prayer and Reflection Room and satellite offices for the Registrar and Student Enrollment.

Security will be a high priority for the union, which will have cameras as well as manned I.D. access points in such places as the loading docks. An anonymous donor gave $250,000 to provide a security system for the art collections that will be featured in the union as well as to commission a piece of art and build a collection of works by faculty, staff, students and alumni that will be continually updated.

Many current students will have graduated when the new union is finally complete in 2010, and Stuck said those she has spoken with have expressed their sadness that they will not be here to use it.

“I told them to go into the graduate program,” Stuck said with tongue firmly in cheek. “But really, I dream about the day that everyone gets to walk in it.”

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