![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/Images\/Bates_Magazine\/summer05\/d-qa-greencomm-4034-C.jpg\")
<\/p>\nTo collect campus input about the eventual look and feel of Bates\u2019 new dining Commons, project architects Sasaki Associates offered something like an open-mike series in May.<\/p>\n
Among other things, these pre-design discussions gave Bates people the chance to opine on sustainable-design features and react to dining spaces at other U.S. colleges. At one gathering in Muskie Archives, students weighed in on the \u201cgreening\u201d of the new Commons, to be located next to Alumni Gym.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The discussion, which included a presentation by the Sasaki consultants Steven Winter Associates, balanced what is possible in the universe of sustainable design (from basic best practices to exotic and innovative measures) against what is reasonably<\/em> possible at Bates. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t want a building filled with innovative technologies that become a money trap,\u201d said Jeremy Fisher \u201906 of Mount Kisco, N.Y. His comment met with nods from Sasaki and College reps. \u201cThe most significant determinant of our strategy will be that one,\u201d said John Amatruda of Steven Winter Associates.<\/p>\n The proposed 55,000-square-foot dining Commons \u2014 by comparison, existing Memorial Commons and Chase Hall combined<\/em> are 63,270 gross square feet \u2014 will be the first major Bates facility designed from start to finish with a sustainable focus. \u201cSustainable\u201d means anything and everything from features that conserve water and energy (two-thirds of a dining hall\u2019s energy use is electricity for lighting, cooling, fans, and other equipment) to using recycled materials in construction.<\/p>\n Another Sasaki-sponsored event was a \u201cbrown paper\u201d session in Chase Hall Lounge. Sasaki staff tacked up long sheets of paper posted with photographs of institutional dining spaces. Handed markers as they walked in, faculty, students, and staff were encouraged to pen candid comments about the photos.<\/p>\n It was a \u201cpassive way to be aggressive\u201d about likes and dislikes, quipped Erin Foster Zsiga, housing director and assistant dean of students, and the comments flowed, from \u201cLooks like a rocket-ship interior\u201d and \u201cWhere\u2019s the lounge singer?\u201d to \u201cGreat! Fits Bates!\u201d and \u201cSpace works but [needs] darker, richer colors and textures.\u201d The session should help Sasaki \u201cdevelop a design response\u201d for the new building \u201cthat will appropriately reflect the culture and expectations of Bates,\u201d says principal-in-charge Alan Resnick.<\/p>\n Later in May, students traveled to Sasaki headquarters in Watertown, Mass., for the firm\u2019s annual Green Day. David Miller \u201907 of Cambridge, Mass., saw the paper sheets in a conference room and the image stuck in his mind. During the subsequent greening session in Muskie, Miller noted \u201chow cool it was to see the brown paper in your office. You were really processing it.\u201d<\/p>\n As he spoke, the Sasaki folks almost kept straight faces, but a few smiles broke through. You could guess their reaction: \u201cGee whiz, what did you expect?\u201d Truthfully? \u201cI guess [students] can be skeptical,\u201d Miller shrugged afterwards. \u201cI was impressed by seeing how [Sasaki] really does follow through. It makes you feel involved.\u201d Bingo, says Resnick. \u201cAn open and honest exchange of ideas and expression of vision results in designs that capture the spirit of the place,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" To collect campus input about the eventual look and feel of Bates\u2019…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":0,"parent":1557,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"_hide_ai_chatbot":false,"_ai_chatbot_style":"","associated_faculty":[],"_Page_Specific_Css":"","_bates_restrict_mod":false,"_dimp_site_id":"","_dimp_override_contact":false,"_table_of_contents_display":false,"_table_of_contents_location":"","_table_of_contents_disableSticky":false,"_is_featured":false,"footnotes":"","_bates_seo_meta_description":"","_bates_seo_block_robots":false,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_id":0,"_bates_seo_sharing_image_twitter_id":0,"_bates_seo_share_title":"","_bates_seo_canonical_overwrite":"","_bates_seo_twitter_template":""},"class_list":["post-1559","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1559"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11459,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1559\/revisions\/11459"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bates.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1559"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}