Around 20 students and administrators gathered around tables in the Mary Graydon Center with outlines for the future renovation plans for the Marketplace seating area last Wednesday and Thursday.
Over the course of an hour on both days, students and administrators rotated tables covered with paper, markers and questions about what their ideal Marketplace seating would include. The meetings were planned by the University Center and Student Activities.
Clifton Johnson, the associate director of facilities and event services, helped plan both events. He said Facilities and Event Services wanted student input and comments as the departments begin designing and constructing the new Marketplace.
“One of the charges we have been given is to look at ways to give students more social space that is more inviting and that will be available for students at all hours, like the weekends and the evenings,” Johnson said. “What we are trying to do before we solidify the plans is to get some last minute comments, concerns and ideas from the students.”
Any changes to the area should be completed by the beginning of Spring semester, Johnson added.
With student feedback, Facilities and Event Services and the Office of Planning and Project Management will work to finalize the details and costs in the next few weeks, according to Johnson.
The design for the Marketplace includes T-shaped booth seating with crevices for tables and additional seating. The currently proposed plan provides seating for approximately 70 people. The Marketplace area has available seating for around 100 occupants.
Mary Margaret Cook and Gregory Platt, both sophomores in the School of Public Affairs, were at the tables brainstorming about the Marketplace layout.
“If the goal is to make MGC more of a student union and more student-friendly, it doesn’t feel that way,” Platt said.
He also acknowledged that the plan might force larger groups to leave the space for the Tavern.
“It feels like a place you eat and leave,” Platt said. “This new plan makes it more student-friendly and gives it a whole new atmosphere.”
Cole Wrampelmeier, coordinator of Information Services and Technology, explained that the University architects created the layout based on a poll that indicated students want Marketplace to be a social area rather than a cafeteria.
The student planning and brainstorming session went well, according to Wrampelmeier.
“I think it’s been pretty good. We are hearing a lot of the same things which is good to get consistent data,” Wrampelmeier said. “I think it will be a shock to people as any big change is. It is an interesting challenge because it is a huge space to deal with.”
