Templeton’s new design keeps students in mind

Last December, construction for the remodel of Templeton Campus Center, soon to be renamed Stephanie J. Fowler Student Center, began. The construction has been an adjustment for Lewis & Clark students, but the design of the new building will include features such as a tech room, an outside elevator, twelve private gender neutral bathrooms, an outdoor dining space and new meeting and conference rooms. 

LC has partnered with ZGF Architecture and Bremik Construction company to complete the redesign. Jennifer Russina and Tyler Short are the lead architects on the project and have been working on the design for the last couple of summers.

“We wanted to make students’ spaces that are visible and engender a sense of ownership and initiative, and that fosters as much community as possible,” Russina said.

In order to do this both of the architects focused on creating “a spine” down Templeton, so students can walk straight through the building. In order to do this, they are going to open up the courtyard, making it the most efficient way to get through the building. There will be an awning over the doors, so that students will be able to walk under it during the rainy season. In addition, there will be a built-in bench outside and a fire pit. 

“One of the main goals on this project is making the courtyard an active space, not only something that you look out at but something that you inhabit,” Short said. 

One major factor that Russina and Short both really focused on when creating the new design was a survey conducted by LC in 2019 Templeton’s current design.

“We wanted to borrow elements from each of them (different architectural styles of Templeton) and create an architecture that unifies the rest of the building and actually improve some of the elements,” Short said. 

In the survey, students responded to a number of questions about what they would like to see in the Templeton remodel. According to the survey, one of the things that more students wanted to see was a tech-room, with printers, and a gaming console. The tech room will be added near the twelve new gender-neutral bathrooms.

“It’s a good step in the right direction for accessibility when it comes to restrooms and all-gender restrooms,” Ryan Gardner, capital project coordinator, said. “I know we’ve made some strides on that recently, but there’s still a way to go so this is a major step in that direction.” 

The redesign will also include a covered space with outdoor dining seating located just outside of the Fields Dining Hall. There will also be two TVs added to the Trail Room and a small stage. It is important to note that the design pictures of Templeton are just a glimpse of what it will actually look like. 

“Whenever you see renderings they are just initially sort of paintings there’s a lot of decisions about certain things, like the furniture, the color, of the space still get decided along the way,” Rocky Campbell,  Assistant Dean of Student Engagement and Executive Director of the Career Center, said.

They also mentioned that the new building will have opportunities for new student art to be displayed and that benches will be added in and around the stairs. Currently, they are working on a whole new furniture arrangement throughout the building, with a focus on creating “little pockets” of furniture.

“We wanted to create a space that fosters a sense of belonging you know, and make students feel more connected to each other.” Russina said. 

The construction is due to be completed in January of 2023.