Green Residence Hall Minutes
University of Minnesota Morris – 10/25/2007
Introductions and attendance:
- Julie Phelps
- Henry Fulda
- TJ Ross
- Sandy Olson Loy
- Rick Carter – LHB
- Kim Brethime – LHB
- Maureen Ness – LHB
- Dave Swenson
- Mike Reese
- Troy Goodnough
- Paul
- Dean Carlson
- Tim Soderberg
- Andy Sharpe
- Karen Ellis
- Michael Fisher
- Becky Eid
- Robert Thompson
- Vicki Graham
Purpose of today: Broad discussion of the residence hall
Res Life staff talked to LHB about the building program for the new hall and talked about process when at the meeting to get all ideas. We also want to see how we interact with the broader community. Want to focus on what they see, what is in it, we also want to look at a site and look at program and sustainability very broadly. Site will be next week, then sustainability after.
Exercise – Describe this place – Year 2010 and you are describing the building to the student, what it looks like and feels like. Use 10 words or less, adjectives. Be very concise.
- Beautiful
- Waiting list
- Designed to fit topography
- Contextual
- Communal
- Comfortable
- Sunny
- Home
- Interactive
- Warm
- Inviting
- Memorable
- View
- Inspirational
- Wide Hallways
- Tall Ceilings
- Made of local materials
- Natural materials
- Healthy
- Futuristic
- Economical
- Allows for privacy
- Fosters community
- Bedrooms more than a cubby-hole
- Informational
- Educational
- Demonstrative
- Engaging
- Efficient
- Solid, made to last
- Noticeable
- Unique
- Sustainable
- Life Changing
- Clean water in, clean water out
- Carbon neutral/ carbon negative (positive, whatever)
- Non-institutional
- Accessible
- Minimal footprint, carbon and physical
- UMM-y – Like it belongs on campus
- Challenging
- Cozy, homey, comfy
- Safe environment
- Prairie
- Energy positive
- Maintainable
- Collaborative
- Liberal Arts-y
- Celebrates history
Exercise – Ideas – Put together ideas in a group and talk about it then present to each other group. Ideas may be drawn. 15 minutes.
- Community Space in entrance – Doors for each floor, you must go through lounge, TV or study space on the main floor
- Community kitchens in each pod, growing foods, big table for food, local food, agriculture shares, green house connected with community garden and community kitchen.
- Individual energy monitoring, room or suite or pod level. Courtyard area, partially or fully enclosed outside.
- Warm inviting place, baked cookies, walk up to with a historic entrance
- Room design, Japanese, ship, slide open doors with blinds, so you can see if people are living, people were around. Big room windows in each room.
- Green house common space, lounge being used as a green house, almost tropical, dome or traditional style. Long traditional green house. Sustainable community, but recreational as well. May have 40 students wanting to garden, so might need a fairly large green house.
- Great entrance room, residential living room, fireplace, skylights, soft sofas and chairs, gathering space.
- Centerpiece entry, solar panels over the extended panels of the entrance of the building.
- Warm sunny spaces, lots of windows to reduce light usage
- Dutch Doors and transom windows
- Green Roof – grow things on roof
- Porch place
- Experiment space to experiment with alternative energy
- Students taking ownership through taking care of the space, providing workshops for campus and community, brushing off solar panels.
- Families can have green weekends to learn about sustainability, grow flowers and sell in student center
- Geothermal
- Windows on two sides of each room, large windows
- Private and public space transitioned with buffer zones and area for all the community
- Earth-lover’s lodge, main lodge with welcome space with porch, fireplaces, rec rooms, educational rooms, recycling sheds attached, real-time energy, solar panels
- Sculptures and aesthetics, large strange curious sculptures
- The look – Fireplace for heat and community building, windows with seating space, large windows for cross air ventilation, brick built and hardwood floors. Lots of open room by the hall with large green house next to hall.
Residential Life went over the needs for this hall: The design, bedrooms, living areas, bathrooms, kitchens, laundry facilities, custodial closets, Residence Hall Director Apartment, Resident Advisor rooms, Main entry, Meeting space, Gaming/TV space, Lounge spaces, Recycling, Trash, Security, Outdoor spaces, Lighting, Storage room, and Miscellaneous (sprinklers, accessibility).
Residential Life talked about community and what a residence hall should be for a beneficial community. Resident Assistants, community building and why some of the areas are necessities in order to live in a residence hall.
LHB handed out the UMM Living and Learning Community Building Program they made to the group as a beginning for the group to go off of. Will be part of the future discussion on what to build off of or take away from.
Exercise – Location – Circle the site of the new residence hall on a campus map and why you think the site should be there.
Exercise – Imagine what it looks like – You are sending a postcard to the student you convinced to come here and am sending them a picture postcard of the building and put a stamp on each picture that feels right for you when thinking of the residence hall.
Logistical Items:
- Sandy: Engage and keep people talking and communicate, a lot has happened in a few weeks, committee should meet next week to talk about how we want to engage people in the process through groups, we want to make sure that everyone is involved that wants to be involved, wants everyone to meet next Thursday, November 1st from 3:45pm to 5:30pm in the ORL conference room.
- Kim: Need to start out broad, which is why we did these exercises, make part of the discussion next week about learning opportunities from one side to the others, we will get all information together and e-mailing it to who the information needs to go to, we will be going forward with certain ideas and crossing out other ideas that are not very popular, in two weeks site, two weeks after that sustainability.
Find pictures of things that you really want and bring them or e-mail them to forward to the group.
Exercise – If I had a million dollars – You have $1,000,000 to invest in whatever idea that you are interested in. All done on the way out of the room.
Next meetings:
Campus committee meeting – November 1, 2007, 3:45pm – 5:30pm, ORL conference room
LHB and campus committee meeting – November 8, 2007, 3:45pm – 5:30pm, ORL conference room
LHB and campus committee meeting – November 29, 2007, 3:45pm – 5:30pm, ORL conference room