Contract - March 2014 - 57

Key Design Highlights
The insertion of a new skylight
and replacement of an existing
stair increased natural light
in the atrium.
The new stair clarified circulation
and allowed for a 13 percent gain
in additional square footage.
Re-milled wood slats from the
original stairs add texture and
screen light.
A variety of seating options
accomodates individual and
group study throughout
the building.

Teaming booths (above),
custom units equipped with
technology, double as private
study spaces within a larger
classroom (right) on the
ground floor.

and a simpler, more compact staircase that both allowed the atrium to
be filled with natural light and added 6,000 square feet of usable space.
"We knew we needed to make the building work in a 21st-century
way," explains Miller Hull Principal Ruth Baleiko, "but we also tried to say,
'What does this building want?' We were actually trying to get Kirk's
original diagram to be truer to itself. Replacing that stair clarified the
circulation, and it opened it up so one can look through the building in
a way that was not possible before." The original oak stair railings were
also re-milled and repurposed as an undulating railing pattern and
installed on the ceiling to create a partial diffuser for the atrium light.
Overall, the design increased interior space utilization by
13 percent, an unsurprising figure to anyone who has witnessed
the thousands of students utilizing the renovated Odegaard each day.
Some occupy scores of computer workstations, while others bring their
own laptops, books, or mobile devices to one of many long tables, sofas,
and lounge chairs with flexible configurations. "We've learned a lot from
the students as they've rearranged the library so it works for them,"
McKinstry says. "It continues throughout the day as they settle in."

Technology-rich classrooms for team-based learning during
the day have sliding glass doors that can be opened so that the
rooms have a shared purpose as additional study space. A variety
of surfaces encourages learning and navigation. Walls in both
classrooms and individual study areas are clad in writable glass to aid
visual communication and learning. Different types of individual or
group spaces are color-coded in bold primary colors. On the third
floor, an interior floor-to-ceiling glass wall encloses a quiet-study
area without losing access to the atrium's natural light.
"This building addresses the whole ecosystem: individual study,
group study, formal and informal learning, and having time to reflect
and step back from what you're working on," Baleiko says. "Every higher
ed institution is facing these issues. How can it increase enrollment
and increase space without the capitol capabilities or space on campus
for it? How does it do that when the building is really jammed? It has to
be intuitively functional; everything at Odegaard was designed around
achieving or supporting various goals. That's what makes the solution
so rich, with new paradigms for learning." c
contract
Contract - March 2014

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Contract - March 2014
