{"id":294,"date":"2017-01-05T10:10:02","date_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:10:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/?p=294"},"modified":"2017-01-05T10:04:32","modified_gmt":"2017-01-05T15:04:32","slug":"completed-renovation-brings-many-benefits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/2017\/01\/05\/completed-renovation-brings-many-benefits\/","title":{"rendered":"Completed renovation brings many benefits"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Brighter
Brighter spaces bring student collaboration and new ways of looking at their work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This past summer, the School of Architecture completed another interior renovation project focused on the lower level of the building.<\/p>\n

This project was the third phase of a $1-million investment in the School\u2019s facilities over the last five years, and represents the culmination of the master plan created by former Dean Steve Vogel approximately 20 years ago.<\/p>\n

School of Architecture Dean Will Wittig sees several distinct and gratifying results of the completion this fall of the 20-year master plan to renovate the interior of the Warren Loranger Architecture Building.<\/p>\n

\"Celebrating
Celebrating the opening of the renovation are, from left, Will Wittig, AIA, School of Architecture dean; Antoine M. Garibaldi, Detroit Mercy president; Beth Jevitz Pagnotta and Steven Pagnotta, alumni and donors; and Claire Antrassian, Architecture student, class of 2018.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

More open spaces encourage collaboration, which leads students to think about their work in different ways, Wittig said. One of the rooms, The Pagnotta Collaboration Center, honors Steven \u201974, \u201976 and Beth Jevitz Pagnotta \u201974, whose generosity made this final stage possible. Other major donations to this phase of work were made by Rainy Hamilton Jr. \u201978; and Tom Blaser \u201955.<\/p>\n

Another important part of the renovation is the new workshops, which Wittig says had been a missing piece of the curriculum.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shop had been neglected, equipment was not used because it was outdated and inadequate,\u201d he said. \u201cThis new woodshop is hands on and really a valuable teaching opportunity. Students will be using technology to help them design and actually fabricate items like furniture or models.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Phil
Phil Cooke, S.J., blesses the new space at its grand opening in September.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"The
The studios are designed to inspire.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wittig says there are four hands-on themes in the curriculum that define what it means to be a Detroit Mercy-educated architect. They are study abroad, cooperative education, community engagement, and the integration of shops and labs with studio work. Three of these\u2014study abroad, co-op, and community engagement\u2014have long been vital parts of the curriculum. With the new workshop and technology labs, this fourth theme is now on equal footing with the other three.<\/p>\n

The School has also begun the process of updating the curriculum and hiring faculty who will leverage this fourth element. \u201cNew faculty members offer a great ability to connect the way we work in the woodshop with the rest of the curriculum.\u201d Wittig said.<\/p>\n

One additional and important benefit of the renovations was something Wittig wasn\u2019t expecting: \u201cI\u2019ve noticed a very clear improvement in morale,\u201d he said. \u201cHaving these plans completed has had an effect on the spirit in the building. Everyone is feeling really good about the School and it shows in the way the building is being used by everyone. During class, after hours, on the weekends, it has brought a new life to the building. It\u2019s very exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This past summer, the School of Architecture completed another interior renovation project focused on the lower level of the building. This project was the third phase of a $1-million investment in the School\u2019s facilities over the last five years, and represents the culmination of the master plan created by former …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":295,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[10,7],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/88\/2017\/01\/lower-level-4.jpg?fit=2048%2C1416&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Kcng-4K","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=294"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":314,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/294\/revisions\/314"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/295"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=294"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=294"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.udmercy.edu\/alumni\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=294"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}