The second floor of the Tri-Towers rotunda will be renovated this summer to create more studio space for the College of Architecture and Environmental Design.

The empty space used to be a dining hall and kitchen area which closed in 2003.

Two architecture studios are currently in the design phase, said Tom Euclide, director of architecture and engineering.

Each studio will have 50 drafting tables. Other possible amenities include a spray room and work room for model building and projects which require students to use paint and glue, Euclide said. A couple small offices will be built for the faculty managing studio classes.

The dividing walls between studios will be moveable so the space can be used as two separate studios or one large studio, Euclide said. Two other rooms will be built to hold 25 students each, he added. The extra space will most likely be used for interior design or art studios, but any studio program could request the space, he added.

The floor will be accessible only to students using the studio space. Euclide said a security system will be installed to ensure the general public doesn’t find a way in to damage student projects. A camera security system will be installed as well, he added.

The total cost of the renovation is $800,000. The architecture studios will most likely be ready for use by the end of August, Euclide said. A number of details still need to be decided before any final plans can be made for the studio space, said Justin Hilton, assistant professor of architecture and environmental design. The School of Architecture became the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at the beginning of 2006, he added.

“We’re in a transition period from school to college,” Hilton said. “Because of this transition, we, as a college, don’t have definite plans on how to use the new studio space yet.”

For students in the architecture program, a studio in Tri-Towers means a cup of coffee is just a short elevator ride away.

“A studio in Tri-Towers would mean you can actually go upstairs to bed or grab a cup of coffee from Rosie’s,” junior architecture major Ashley Stenger said. “You never have to leave.”

Contact buildings and grounds reporter Jennifer Mussig at [email protected].