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

  • Deferred Maintenance Issues Growing at Universities, Gordian Reports

    U.S. colleges and universities are falling increasingly behind on facilities maintenance and repair, according to Gordian’s 13th annual State of Facilities in Higher Education report. The deferred capital renewal burden has reached $156 per gross square foot, an 8% increase over the previous year.

  • Big Horn Academy

    Big Horn Academy

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Big Horn Academy has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • KWK Architects Announces Full Transition to Lawrence Group Branding

    KWK Architects recently announced that it will complete its transition to the Lawrence Group brand effective July 1, according to a news release. The merger marks the end of a three-year strategic integration process that began in March 2023 to unite the firms.

  • USC Launches Major AI Initiative After $200M Gift

    The University of Southern California in Los Angeles, Calif., recently announced that it has launched a “transformational” new AI initiative thanks to a $200M gift, according to a news release. The project will leverage AI toward breakthroughs and innovations in subjects like the health sciences, business, security, and the arts.