Space is the place—new Iowa Memorial Union space, that is

	Photo by Tom Jorgensen.

The air was filled with hammering and dust, and the hallways were a maze of crazy detours. But with the first phase of renovations complete, the noise and dust in the Iowa Memorial Union (IMU) should begin settling—and, according to David Grady, associate vice president and director of University Life Services, life in the IMU should be back to normal.

Or better. When he spoke at a public dedication of the IMU last month, Grady invited visitors to discover a vital and creative campus center that more fully suits the needs of the UI community.

The IMU has been the center of campus life since it opened in December 1925, Grady says. Over the past 80 years, the IMU has grown in size with the University, undergoing five major renovations. Over the last 16 months, construction workers in the IMU have remodeled or built anew roughly 14,000 square feet of recreational, social, study, retail, and work space.

Brick-and-mortar example

The IMU’s new space is a brick-and-mortar example of the University’s commitment to excellence for its students, faculty, and staff, Grady says. He and his staff orchestrated the renovation on five priorities: improving lounge space, improving circulation, revamping student offices, embracing the outdoors, and completing deferred maintenance.

All these priorities are based on a goal Grady envisioned in the 1990s for a first-class building.

“The IMU is the social and activity center of the campus, what UI President Jessup in 1919 called the hearthstone for the whole University,” Grady says. “In keeping with Jessup’s vision, we wanted to make sure we created venues and space that meet the needs of a growing university community.”

Something old, something new

The changes improve the old and create some new. Several existing spaces underwent a facelift, including the Hawkeye (formerly the Wheelroom), which now has free game tables (pool, ping-pong, and foosball), five plasma TVs, free popcorn, and a snack shop; the University Bookstore, which used to be divided on two levels but now is all on one level; and the Main Lounge, which was given new carpeting, fresh paint, and improved lighting.

The IMU also reopened with a new space on the east side of the building called the Hubbard Pavilion. Named in honor of the late UI professor and administrator Philip G. Hubbard, the pavilion houses three floors of expanded lounge space, revamped IMU offices, a Student Organization Office Suite, and a screen-and-stage area called the Black Box Theater.

Improved circulation and an embraceable IMU

Another change is the way visitors can move through the IMU—what architects and facilities managers call circulation. A central staircase and elevator allow access to all floors, eliminating the need to cut across levels to one end or the other to continue ascending or descending.

The changes also include creative ways of integrating the IMU with the rest of the campus. When planners designed a new riverside amphitheater and the Hubbard Pavilion, they were thinking about the University’s long-range Campus Master Plan to embrace the outdoors beauty of the University of Iowa campus, Grady says.

The River Terrace seats up to 600 people for outdoor concerts, meetings, studying, and just relaxing. Riverfest this spring will take place on the terrace while the festival’s traditional stomping ground, Hubbard Park, is torn up for Facilities Management work on the University’s chilled water project [Editor's Note: For more information, see www.facilities.uiowa.edu/dcs/projects/RiverXing.htm.].

The three-story Hubbard Pavilion sits on top of what used to be an outside patio. Grady says the architects wanted the glass exterior of the three-story Hubbard Pavilion to act at night like a beacon that calls people into the IMU, and to let in plenty of natural light during the day.

IMU, and you are me, and we are all together

To help visualize the ideal campus center, Grady and his staff queried students, faculty, and IMU staff during the planning. While the vision for the renovation was driven largely by feedback from enrolled students, Grady says often prospective faculty members, potential students, and visitors of all kinds get their first impression of the University from the IMU.

“The IMU is what many people see most of while they’re on campus,” Grady says. 

The building is host to more than 8,000 University meetings or events each year, as well as about 500 events for the general public.

The Iowa House hotel, on the river side of the IMU, has about 100 rooms for guests who include Hancher stage luminaries, writers from other countries in the University’s International Writing Program, and UI alumni returning to campus for game days and class reunions, among many others. 

About 10,000 to 12,000 people walk through the IMU every day, Grady says. They’re not only students but also faculty and staff members who eat lunch in the River Room or Marketplace, buy books in the University Bookstore, get involved in campus activities, go to concerts, see movies, attend lectures, or just hang out.

“The new Hubbard Commons lounge area looks welcoming and presents a good first image to new employees,” says Maureen McCormick, director of UI Learning and Development, whose staff uses IMU rooms to run orientation sessions for some 500 new UI employees each year. “That first impression is also important for the external customers our office invites to the IMU for training seminars and other programs.”

Finishing up

What’s next? Just as the UI community’s needs won’t ever stop changing, the IMU truly might never be complete, but Grady thinks renovation has reached a stopping point—almost. A second phase of renovations begins soon to take care of deferred maintenance, improve food service venues, and further enhance circulation (accessibility and navigation).   

IMU visitors can look forward to the opening in March of the Black Box Theater, a small venue with seating, screens, and stages available for creative use by any UI organization.

Film fans can help the Bijou Theater celebrate its 35th anniversary and newly renovated space. The Bijou’s regular programming opened this month in an entirely redesigned theater that boasts digital surround sound, seats with cup holders and higher backrests, a new screen, and acoustic paneling. The Bijou, which has made a name for itself as one of the country’s preeminent student-run cinemas, posts its schedule of independent, art house, foreign, and classic films online at www.bijoutheater.org.

Grady encourages everyone to come see the IMU transformation, and thinks the expanded lounges offer great space for faculty and staff members to gather and meet with students and coworkers.

“We’re finishing up odds and ends, but the transformation is basically complete,” Grady says. “I’m happy that we’ve created a campus center that’s not only fun but also up to the University’s standards for excellence.”

by Gary Kuhlmann