• Apply
  • Archives
  • NewsWatch
  • Classifieds
  • Multimedia
    • Ole Miss in Puerto Rico
    • Campus Protests
    • The Queen of Marks
    • Meet Aubrey Armstrong, a Real Champion and Local Celebrity
    • Mississippi voters passed Initiative 65. What’s next?
    • One year later: COVID-19 at Ole Miss
    • “It’s Just Not Fair”: One Woman’s Fight For Access to Community Water
    • A way with words
Tuesday, January 31, 2023
  • Login
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
  • News
    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    The reality of NIL

    The reality of NIL

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

  • Sports
    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

  • Arts & Culture
    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    The music venues that make Oxford

    Who’s coming to Oxford this spring

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    New movies light up the box office

    New movies light up the box office

  • Opinion

    The Black experience: something greater than just me

    Staff Editorial: Too much

    Cameras in the classroom and useless image politics

    A year 2 remember

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
  • News
    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    The only sober ones in the room: Oxford bartenders serve as a safety net

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    Being the first: First generation students share experience, struggles and misconceptions

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    ASB passes preferred pronoun policy

    The reality of NIL

    The reality of NIL

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Artificial intelligence presents new challenge to the university

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

    Video of arrest sparks controversy

  • Sports
    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

    Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

  • Arts & Culture
    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    New semester, new music: a list of spring semester’s most anticipated albums

    The music venues that make Oxford

    Who’s coming to Oxford this spring

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    Long awaited “The Last of US” makes HBO debut

    New movies light up the box office

    New movies light up the box office

  • Opinion

    The Black experience: something greater than just me

    Staff Editorial: Too much

    Cameras in the classroom and useless image politics

    A year 2 remember

  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact
No Result
View All Result
The Daily Mississippian
No Result
View All Result

Back-to-school: New year, new Union

Olivia MorganbyOlivia Morgan
August 21, 2017
Reading Time: 4 mins read

Nine years of planning and eight months without Chick-fil-A french fries will culminate sometime early this semester with the pulling back of the green-fenced curtain on the Student Union addition.

This brand-new building, which has been under construction since the parking lot and loading dock of the old Union were fenced off in summer 2015, will bring a functioning food court back to campus with old friends like Qdoba, Panda Express and Chick-fil-A, as well as newcomers McAllister’s Deli and Which Wich.

The new facility will increase food court seating from 150 to almost 400 spots for diners. Doors will open in front of Deaton Hall, as well as behind the Fulton Chapel/Quad area to the upper level of the building.

Director of Facilities Planning and university architect Ian Banner and director of the Student Union Bradley Baker have been with the project from its beginning in 2008, when the swelling university initiated the $58 million expansion and renovation undertaking.

“The student population has more than doubled since the original Student Union was built,” Banner said. “We were lagging slightly behind the students per Union-square-foot, but we’ve made a huge improvement from where it was.”

Upon the project’s completion in 2019, the square footage will nearly double from the initial size.

Planners looked to places like the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky for inspiration, which have both renovated and reimagined their Unions in previous years. They also looked to the campus itself to create a building that blends seamlessly into its environment.

“The existing Student Union was designed at a time when architects tended to want to overpower the environment. They didn’t really work with the environment like we do now,” Banner said, noting the old building’s standout design and darkly tinted windows.

The new structure’s levels will smoothly expand down the hill on which it was built and will be surrounded by “green spaces.”

“At every step of the way we’ve tried to balance environmental concerns with functionality,” he said.

Along with using high-efficiency construction techniques and ecologically “benign” materials like brick and low emissivity window panes, Banner also uses the sun and the building itself to control light and temperature.

The new Union’s design has deepened overhangs and floor-to-ceiling windows to provide strategic shading while the sun is at its peak and interior lighting when the sun rises and sets. For times of extreme glare, automatic blinds will descend from the ceiling to just above head-height in the food court.

These overhangs also work to recreate the red brick columned look that has become almost synonymous with the university itself and to support 3,700 square feet of exterior balcony seating.

“I think with the amount of time we spend outside in Mississippi, we’ve got that opportunity to use it,” Banner said of the terraces, which will be spotted with chairs and umbrellas upon completion.

Also outside the building lies 3,000 square feet of multi-purpose space dotted with trees leading to the new Union Transit Hub. Mike Harris, director of parking and transportation, said this new port is part of a larger plan to make the campus feel more connected and improve the timing of bus routes.

“This will be an important drop-off and pick up spot and a true hub of campus,” Harris said, noting the new Rebel Red and Blue lines, City Red and Blue Lines and Yellow Line will all use this stop.

“There will be a plaza where the buses can pull off the street for pickup and dropoff with an overhang, and LED large-screen monitor showing routes and ETAs of all buses that

The Student Union construction. Photo by Taylar Teelstop there,” he said.

The inside of the Union will also feature a television mapping the routes and status of every bus line on campus.

In the meantime before the Union’s opening, the Rebel Red line will drop off just beyond the edge of the construction zone near Deaton Hall, and the Blue line will be serviced by the existing bus stop and shelter in front of Hefley Hall.

The new outdoor plaza will also serve as a multifunction space in conjunction with the new Student Union Ballroom, opening in the near future.

The ballroom will take up 8,205 square feet and the entire top floor of the Union’s addition. Baker said the university has long needed a venue to service large events on campus in a capacity greater than even the Inn at Ole Miss has offered in the past.

The demand for meeting space has been a primary concern for Baker. While keeping the spirit of the Union alive from a de facto office in Lester Hall, Baker has worked to engage students online through the hashtag #thisisyourunion. He has taken the statement to heart when making key decisions for the building.

“We have tried to make sure our students have had a say in what’s going, whether it’s the floor types or what goes in the restroom,” Baker said.

Just last semester, students selected the navy chairs that will soon dot the food court. Members of the student body will be able to test drive more furniture for the forthcoming lobby and office spaces.

Baker and the dedicated team of planners at facilities management traveled to other Student Unions across the Southeast and spent seven years meticulously researching before breaking ground in 2015.

“I feel like the whole team has pulled together in the same direction, and it’s really going to be something that the university and all of us can be proud of,” Banner said.

Baker noted that the new Union puts Ole Miss in the ballpark with other SEC schools from a recruiting standpoint but most importantly will be a welcoming spot for all members of the Ole Miss family.

“The intent of the Student Union is to unionize students, to get them together,” he said. “And I think over time (the old) building had lost its touch.”

While he noticed students had grown to think of the building as merely a food venue, he was dreaming up an area where students can socialize and get involved.

His dreams will become a reality in 2019, when the entire 173,530-square-foot facility opens its doors.

In Case You Missed It

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

14 hours ago
Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

14 hours ago
Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

14 hours ago
The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

14 hours ago
Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

2 days ago
Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

2 days ago

Back-to-school: New year, new Union

Olivia MorganbyOlivia Morgan
August 21, 2017
Reading Time: 4 mins read

Nine years of planning and eight months without Chick-fil-A french fries will culminate sometime early this semester with the pulling back of the green-fenced curtain on the Student Union addition.

This brand-new building, which has been under construction since the parking lot and loading dock of the old Union were fenced off in summer 2015, will bring a functioning food court back to campus with old friends like Qdoba, Panda Express and Chick-fil-A, as well as newcomers McAllister’s Deli and Which Wich.

The new facility will increase food court seating from 150 to almost 400 spots for diners. Doors will open in front of Deaton Hall, as well as behind the Fulton Chapel/Quad area to the upper level of the building.

Director of Facilities Planning and university architect Ian Banner and director of the Student Union Bradley Baker have been with the project from its beginning in 2008, when the swelling university initiated the $58 million expansion and renovation undertaking.

“The student population has more than doubled since the original Student Union was built,” Banner said. “We were lagging slightly behind the students per Union-square-foot, but we’ve made a huge improvement from where it was.”

Upon the project’s completion in 2019, the square footage will nearly double from the initial size.

Planners looked to places like the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky for inspiration, which have both renovated and reimagined their Unions in previous years. They also looked to the campus itself to create a building that blends seamlessly into its environment.

“The existing Student Union was designed at a time when architects tended to want to overpower the environment. They didn’t really work with the environment like we do now,” Banner said, noting the old building’s standout design and darkly tinted windows.

The new structure’s levels will smoothly expand down the hill on which it was built and will be surrounded by “green spaces.”

“At every step of the way we’ve tried to balance environmental concerns with functionality,” he said.

Along with using high-efficiency construction techniques and ecologically “benign” materials like brick and low emissivity window panes, Banner also uses the sun and the building itself to control light and temperature.

The new Union’s design has deepened overhangs and floor-to-ceiling windows to provide strategic shading while the sun is at its peak and interior lighting when the sun rises and sets. For times of extreme glare, automatic blinds will descend from the ceiling to just above head-height in the food court.

These overhangs also work to recreate the red brick columned look that has become almost synonymous with the university itself and to support 3,700 square feet of exterior balcony seating.

“I think with the amount of time we spend outside in Mississippi, we’ve got that opportunity to use it,” Banner said of the terraces, which will be spotted with chairs and umbrellas upon completion.

Also outside the building lies 3,000 square feet of multi-purpose space dotted with trees leading to the new Union Transit Hub. Mike Harris, director of parking and transportation, said this new port is part of a larger plan to make the campus feel more connected and improve the timing of bus routes.

“This will be an important drop-off and pick up spot and a true hub of campus,” Harris said, noting the new Rebel Red and Blue lines, City Red and Blue Lines and Yellow Line will all use this stop.

“There will be a plaza where the buses can pull off the street for pickup and dropoff with an overhang, and LED large-screen monitor showing routes and ETAs of all buses that

The Student Union construction. Photo by Taylar Teelstop there,” he said.

The inside of the Union will also feature a television mapping the routes and status of every bus line on campus.

In the meantime before the Union’s opening, the Rebel Red line will drop off just beyond the edge of the construction zone near Deaton Hall, and the Blue line will be serviced by the existing bus stop and shelter in front of Hefley Hall.

The new outdoor plaza will also serve as a multifunction space in conjunction with the new Student Union Ballroom, opening in the near future.

The ballroom will take up 8,205 square feet and the entire top floor of the Union’s addition. Baker said the university has long needed a venue to service large events on campus in a capacity greater than even the Inn at Ole Miss has offered in the past.

The demand for meeting space has been a primary concern for Baker. While keeping the spirit of the Union alive from a de facto office in Lester Hall, Baker has worked to engage students online through the hashtag #thisisyourunion. He has taken the statement to heart when making key decisions for the building.

“We have tried to make sure our students have had a say in what’s going, whether it’s the floor types or what goes in the restroom,” Baker said.

Just last semester, students selected the navy chairs that will soon dot the food court. Members of the student body will be able to test drive more furniture for the forthcoming lobby and office spaces.

Baker and the dedicated team of planners at facilities management traveled to other Student Unions across the Southeast and spent seven years meticulously researching before breaking ground in 2015.

“I feel like the whole team has pulled together in the same direction, and it’s really going to be something that the university and all of us can be proud of,” Banner said.

Baker noted that the new Union puts Ole Miss in the ballpark with other SEC schools from a recruiting standpoint but most importantly will be a welcoming spot for all members of the Ole Miss family.

“The intent of the Student Union is to unionize students, to get them together,” he said. “And I think over time (the old) building had lost its touch.”

While he noticed students had grown to think of the building as merely a food venue, he was dreaming up an area where students can socialize and get involved.

His dreams will become a reality in 2019, when the entire 173,530-square-foot facility opens its doors.

In Case You Missed It

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

Rebels run wild at Razorback Invitational

14 hours ago
Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

Ole Miss men’s tennis falls to Princeton

14 hours ago
Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

Lady Rebels claw back to stun the Razorbacks in overtime: Three takeaways

14 hours ago
The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

The short-handed Rebels become a casualty of the Big 12-SEC Challenge

14 hours ago
Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

Ole Miss’ top prospects declare for the 2023 NFL Draft

2 days ago
Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

Summarizing Ole Miss’ transfer portal additions

2 days ago

Facebook Twitter Instagram Youtube
Mississippi Press Association

Sign up for The Morning Briefing, our newsletter with the top news of the day.

SUBSCRIBE

  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Sports
  • Arts & Culture
  • Opinion
  • Print / e-Editions
  • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Policy
    • Classifieds
  • Contact

All Rights Reserved to S. Gale Denley Student Media Center 2019

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
-
00:00
00:00

Queue

Update Required Flash plugin
-
00:00
00:00