The global pandemic challenged all of us to see space a bit differently, perhaps none more so than college campuses. As many campuses face a change in how their students utilize their campus facilities, colleges and universities across the state are finding a need to adapt to their new realities. Metro State University found themselves in this position in 2021 when the timing of the global pandemic prevented the attraction of a vendor for a brand-new dining facility in their Student Center building.
Due to a lack of vendor interest as students were forced off-campus and online in 2020 and 2021, the cafe space sat mostly empty apart from the wandering students that sat down to work or study in the booths intended for dining. With high ceilings and ample daylighting, the University decided to tap into the cafe’s untapped potential by rearranging spaces on campus to give the area a new use. One campus service that was still seeing plenty of use at the time was the bookstore, located then in the Library building. The plan was to relocate the bookstore to the existing cafe space and modify the previous bookstore location to better suit campus needs.
The vacated bookstore space in the Library building was then designed to house a hybrid office suite and an updated space for the Gordon Parks Gallery. The hybrid space, designed to provide better access to community partners and academic internship support, became some of the first of its kind on this campus. It includes flexible working desks, a conference room, smaller huddle rooms for virtual calls or private meetings, and kitchenette and support spaces for the department. So far it has made a great home for career services, who need areas to have one-on-one meetings with students.
The gallery has also seen an improvement in its new space. During the design process, the gallery director envisioned an area with enough flexibility to showcase a variety of subjects, media, and forms. During the construction phase, Architecture Advantage worked directly with the contractor to mock-up and finalize the plans for new, moveable art walls.
For our design team, we see this project as an example for future college facilities looking to tackle a remodel of their existing building(s) or department(s). The goal of any renovation should be to take the best that exists in the current spaces and make them better, healthier, and more collaborative areas for all users. We are proud to have been a part of the successful renovation in the heart of St. Paul.
Photos of the finished project can be viewed here.
