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

  • Illinois State University Breaks Ground on College of Fine Arts Transformation

    Illinois State University in Normal, Ill., recently held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Wonsook Kim College of Fine Arts transformation project, according to university news. The series of new constructions and renovations will upgrade spaces in Centennial East, the Center for the Visual Arts, and the Center for the Performing Arts, as well as replace the existing Centennial West facility with a new Commons Building.

  • Geometric abstract school illustration

    How Design Shapes Learning and Success

    Can the color of a wall, the curve of a chair, or the hum of fluorescent lights really affect how a student learns? More schools are beginning to think so.

  • 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.

  • restroom sinks

    CSU Dominguez Hills Standardizes Plumbing to Improve Restroom Maintenance and Efficiency

    At California State University, Dominguez Hills, facilities leaders have taken steps to standardize restroom fixtures as part of a broader effort to improve maintenance efficiency and control long-term costs.