PUBLICATIONS Inside Illinois Vol. 24, No. 12, Dec. 16, 2004

Library tunnel renovation under way thanks to students’ vision

By Sharita Forrest, Assistant Editor
217-244-1072; slforres@uiuc.edu

A subterranean area on campus is getting an extreme makeover.

Through a project called “Tunnel Vision,” the tunnel connecting the Undergraduate Library with the Main Library is being refurbished with the design work of students in the College of Fine and Applied Arts and the execution by workers from trades in Facilities & Services.

The tunnel was constructed in conjunction with the Undergraduate Library in the late 1960s. Since then, the tunnel has been home for several vending machines, a microwave and wall-mounted plastic tables and seats where pairs of students could snack or study.

In 2002, Illinois Student Government representatives asked the Office of the Chancellor if something could be done to improve the space and if the chancellor would help fund the renovations. Since it was a student-oriented space, administrators decided to turn to student designers for innovative ideas on transforming a rather lackluster space into a stimulating, relaxing and aesthetically pleasing environment.

During the fall semester 2003, architecture professor Jeff Poss and industrial design professor Alex Fekete had eight interdisciplinary teams of seniors devise plans for renovating the tunnel as an end-of-the-semester project for their studio courses. The student designers quickly zeroed in on three elements in the tunnel: poor lighting, bland colors and immovable, uncomfortable seating that was not compliant with the Americans With Disabilities Act, Fekete said.

While the student teams had a wealth of creative ideas, the initial project budget of $20,000 was too Spartan to bring many of those ideas to fruition. For many students, it also was the first project they had worked on that was more than theoretical.

“The students did great on their designs,” said Kris Campbell, coordinator of research in the Office of Public Affairs, who chaired the committee that reviewed the students’ projects and decided which would be used. “One group came up with an idea where the lights would change as a person walked through the tunnel, the tables and chairs had thermosensitive paint that changed colors with body heat and robotic vending machines interacted with the users.”

As units on campus became interested in the idea of renovating the tunnel, “I think it helped it become a space that people wanted to take ownership of and do something with. They saw more value in it,” Campbell said.

The committee decided to incorporate elements from two of the teams’ designs into the final construction: tiered seating platforms and movable cubes that would encourage user interaction and color gradations in the walls and furniture that would break the space visually into discrete zones for studying, relaxing and snacking.

Additional funding was secured so that the outdated fluorescent lighting fixtures could be replaced and wireless communication technology installed.

“As far as proving to the students that their ideas could sell, the additional funding was really an important thing,” Poss said. “That got a lot of them excited, and they wanted to continue working on the project into the spring semester.”

Some of the seniors from the original teams – who were joined by other students who had heard about the project and wanted to be part of it – worked on it for credit during the spring semester. Using space at Flagg Hall, they constructed large models and a full-scale cross section of the space and conducted numerous studies – full-scale and small scale, digitally and physically – on what the space could look like. Carl Lewis, a capital planning specialist in Planning, Design and Construction, met with the students to ensure that their designs complied with ADA regulations. Every two weeks they met with campus architects and representatives of the sponsoring units for formal critiques.

“We continued to work through the summer and realized we needed professional help to get the volume of the project done,” Poss said. “So we got a commitment to have the mill shop and the metal shop in Facilities & Services do the actual construction.”

A consultant from an Indianapolis firm, who was called in to examine the tunnel’s lighting fixtures and suggest alternatives, was intrigued by the existing fixtures, which she believed were some of the first fluorescent lights manufactured.

Although the tunnel is still a work in progress, there are visible changes. Gone are the wall-mounted plastic tables and seats. Floor tile in a lighter shade has been installed, and the walls have been painted in large blocks of color that gradually change from a restful French blue at the east end to a jazzy orange shade at the west end where the staircase leads upward to the main library.

“The combination of the furniture and the walls really gives you a holistic feeling of color transition when you walk through the space,” Poss said.

The vending machines have been clustered on the north side of the tunnel, near the staircase to the main library, so that as people enter the space they have an unobstructed view from end to end.

The mill shop is constructing laminated, amphitheater-like seating platforms and seating cubes that will be scattered throughout the tunnel. A two-tiered, wheelchair-accessible “snack bar” will be built and installed near the vending machines at the west end, and a microwave cabinet will be built into the closest seating platform.

The ultimate goal is to change users’ perceptions of the tunnel from an uninteresting but expeditious conduit between the two libraries to that of a destination in itself.

“Students will be coming here because they know about the amenities, because they know it’s comfortable and it’s been done – and done well – by students. Conceptually, I think the space will have a completely different feel,” Fekete said.

Illinois Student Government, the Illini Union, the Library and the offices of the Chancellor and the Provost are sponsoring the project, which will cost about $100,000. Completion is tentatively scheduled for February and a dedication is planned.

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