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Housing unveils extreme makeover |
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Written by Erin Birmingham - Editor-in-Chief
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Thursday, 16 November 2006 |
 Redesign of dorm lounges to happen in coming years In the next 3 to 4 years Pacific can expect to see new and exciting improvements in the residence halls, apartments and Greek houses. Housing is planning renovations to the public areas, such as the lounges and hallways, of these residences.
This semester Housing revealed a preview of what is to come at their ribbon cutting and open house in John Ballantyne’s lounge. Here people could come in and see an example of the future of the residence halls’ social areas.
Mylon Kirksy, the Associate Director for Residential Living with Housing and Student Life, calls this renovation the Residential Redesign Project. He explained that the plan is to redesign the common spaces in the residence halls, apartments and Greek houses over the next several years.
He said, “The pilot project in John B. was an opportunity to get feedback from students and from the campus about the different furniture, the design concepts and themes that we had in there. We used it as a test area to show off different types of concepts like a study area, a recreation area and a lounge area with a TV.”
 The new lounge has a very modern feel with a white and light green color scheme, a piano, a TV surrounded by large box shelves, and a round table with chairs in the middle. In addition there is a high bar like table along the back wall with high chairs for homework and studying. The carpet was changed to a fresh light green color. The lounge is now very bright and welcoming, especially in comparison to the other lounge in John B which awaits renovation. This other lounge is decorated with old fashion lamps and colors and has a stuffy and old feel. The new lounge is a great improvement, residents of John B. agreed.
Mylon Kirksy said of the design, “They won’t all be the same type of design, the same carpets, or colors; it is best to think of it as a kit of parts. What we are trying to do is test out various types of furniture and designs to see what students think about them so that we can implement them in different parts of the campus.”
Each lounge will serve a different purpose. Mylon said, “Some areas will have a study area, and some will be more recreational. For example, some may have a pool table, TVs, or a pingpong table. Others will be designed for study and have circular table rounds and a lot of chairs, wireless accommodations or plug in.”
In the Quads, Housing plans to put different types of lounges in different buildings in order to encourage community. Mylon explained that, “There might be a recreational area in one building, a study lounge in another building and a lounge area in another. We want to encourage students to move from building to building to meet new people. We want to do this especially in the Quads because it is a grouping of buildings that act as a community.” The contractor for the first stage of the Residential Redesign was Lilly Designs out of San Francisco. Housing looks to continue their relationship with them on a consulting basis but have not figured out the nature of their relationship in the future.
The directors of this project really encourage student feedback. Students can access their site for more information on how to contact them at http://www.pacific.edu/studentlife/housing/ or call Mylon Kirksy at (209) 946-2331.
He said that, “He will be glad to take down any advice. Any ideas students have for their space or any space are welcome. There is also always a formal opportunity for students to be involved.”
They have encouraged students’ input all along the way and will continue to use their input down the line.
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