Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Arizona State University Student Union Revamped

  • 12/11/17

The hub of campus activity at Arizona State University’s (ASU) Tempe campus, the student center Memorial Union has been reimagined and revitalized with a 119,000-square-foot new redesign led by architecture firm Studio Ma.

Serving some 30,000 students per day, Memorial Union now offers unique collaborative workspaces for students, a cutting-edge media center for video production training, and new spiritual zones including a meditation room for all faiths with an ablution space for those of the Muslim faith. Outdoors, an area prone to flooding has been reinvented as an absorbent bioswale, or rain garden. The first phase added ballrooms, multi-use event spaces, classrooms and a large auditorium.

ASU Student Union

Studio Ma developed a collegiate design aesthetic with sustainable materials from the Southwest region, such as rough-cut sandstone walls, Douglas fir wood ceilings, and mesquite flooring and paneling.

The renovations were shaped by extensive student surveys led by Studio Ma, which identified the need for more collaborative workspaces, new meeting areas and recreation amenities. In response, Studio Ma designed new seating niches and added more soft, lounge-type seating along the facility’s corridors. In addition to these desired “third spaces” bridging between dorm life and academic centers, the research showed students wanted “new quiet areas to gather and engage in spiritual and meditative practices,” says Christiana Moss, AIA, principal and design leader.

The new Memorial Union’s Student Media Center is the first campus place where students can take advantage of video production training and high-tech conference rooms with Skype-enabled screens and cameras.

The innovative new facilities are the second phase of extensive fast-track renovations conceived by Arizona State leadership including university architect Ed Soltero and executed by Studio Ma and construction firm CORE Construction. Tracking LEED Gold, the successful project reflects Studio Ma’s close partnership with ASU’s Educational Outreach and Student Services, as well as Memorial Union’s Executive Director, Michele Grab.

Featured

  • Image courtesy of Kahler Slater

    UW–Madison Announces Completion of Morgridge Hall

    The University of Wisconsin–Madison recently announced that construction is complete on Morgridge Hall, a new academic building, according to a news release. The facility opened September 3 at the start of the fall semester, consolidating the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences into a single facility for the first time.

  • Northeastern University Breaks Ground on New Housing Community

    Northeastern University recently announced the groundbreaking of a new student housing community on its campus in Boston, Mass., according to a news release. The university is partnering with American Campus Communities (ACC) for development of the project, which will have the capacity for 1,200 students and has a scheduled completion date of fall 2028.

  • Stanford Completes Construction on Graduate School of Education Facility

    Stanford University in Stanford, Calif., recently announced the end of construction on a new home for its Graduate School of Education, according to a news release. The university partnered with McCarthy Building Companies on the 160,000-square-foot project, which involved two major renovations and one new construction effort.

  • Pitzer College

    Designing for Change in Higher Ed Learning Environments

    Higher education will continue to evolve, and learning environments must evolve with it. By prioritizing adaptable infrastructure, thoughtful reuse, strong energy performance, and wellness-centered design, campuses can create spaces that support learning today while remaining flexible for the future.