Meet me on MainStreet |
| Steger Student Life Center |
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What's 40 feet wide, 500 feet long
and smells like coffee beans?
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| A
pair of skywalks connects the western tip of the Steger Student Life
Center to a renovated Swift Hall. |
The long and slender Joseph Steger
Student Life Center, which reenergized the urban core of West Campus this
spring as patrons quickly filled the innovative facility's offices, business
center, computer lab, art gallery and, of course, Starbucks.
Named for former University of Cincinnati president Joseph Steger, the
Student Life Center, which steps down the heart of MainStreet, is one
of the most complex design structures to open at UC since Frank Gehry's
curvy-walled Vontz Center for Molecular Studies graced East Campus in
1999.
"From an architectural standpoint, it is an extremely difficult building
to design because it is so slim," UC architect Ron Kull says. "You
have to think about two things: Where is the space you occupy? And where
is the space for circulation?
"It was a feat for the design architects to design it in such a way
that it doesn't just become all circulation space. And then they had to
transition all the various grade drops. There is over a 50-foot grade
drop in elevation from one end to the other."
A wall of windows on the south side allows daylight to flood the unique
structure's interior and also provides those inside with impressive vistas
of Nippert Stadium, McMicken Hall, TUC, the Campus Recreation Center and
Varsity Village. Conversely, the interior lighting spills out onto MainStreet
open spaces at night creating a warm glow that Kull compares to Vail,
Colo., after sundown.
As planners hoped when devising the $238 million upgrade, MainStreet has
awakened an after-hours energy at UC. Instead of immediately heading off
campus for social events and entertainment, more students are sticking
around for dinner and a movie in TUC, followed by a late-night caffeine
pick-me-up in the Student Life Center's two-story Starbucks.
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Interior spaces within the Joseph Steger Student Life Center include
a two-story Starbucks. |
The gourmet coffee chain occupies
the building's eastern tip. Approximately 500 feet west, taking up the
opposite end of the building, is the 100-seat computer lab that now allows
students 24-hour access to high-end PCs and Macs, a multimedia editing
room and wireless networking. Sandwiched between those big-draw amenities
are Subway, the bookstore's satellite business shop, the art gallery and
key offices for student life, student government, student organizations,
the Women's Center, the Wellness Center and others.
The design of the ground-level Phillip Meyers Jr. Memorial Gallery makes
it a compelling place for local artists to display their work, particularly
UC's fine arts students eager to get their pieces before an audience.
NEXT | UC's new public
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