The Electronic Media and Perfoming Arts Center Task Force has scheduled two open meetings focusing on the design process for the EMPAC building.
The intent of the meetings is to inform the students of the current status of the project and to allow students to add their input to the process.
Task Force Chair John Tichy says he sees the project becoming more real, especially in light of the recent $130 million gift, part of which has been dedicated to building the EMPAC center. "With this big anonymous gift, it’s really taken on another level of excitment," he said.
Tichy said the task force will be presenting more detailed information about room layout and usage than has previously been available. The overall vision and role of the building and the design competion to find its architect are also expected to be discussed.
The meetings will be held 7-9 pm on January 31 in CII 3051 and 1-3 pm on February 7 in CII 4050.
"We’re interested in student reaction," said Tichy, who has only received a small number of e-mails despite requests for input.
Phase I of the design competition process also begins this week. Invitations to participate in the design competition were scheduled to be sent out to 12 selected architects on January 31. Their deadline to respond is February 14.
From their responses, the competitors will be narrowed down to a short-list of about four architects who will be interviewed for invitation to participate in Phase II, which is the actual juried competition.
"It’s a very formalized procedure," Tichy said. "It’s not just a couple sketches of a building on a hillside."
Tichy says that since the announcement of the gift in December, the project has really been progressing. "That made the whole thing more real in people’s minds," he said.
