The University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota, has given the green light for construction of the 210,000 s.f. Anderson Student Center, with plans to complete the project by the end of 2011.
The center will draw students crossing from the Quad into a lively three-story atrium filled with light and activity (image, right). Jane Canney, the University’s vice president of student affairs, said, “The student center will be our living room… the real heart of the campus.”¯
A hub of campus activity, the center will feature a variety of dining facilities, including a 590-seat dining hall; recreational facilities; stores; meeting rooms and offices; a major multi-purpose room; and a small gallery, linked together with a unifying circular stair in the atrium. A variety of small, informal lounge spaces will enliven the space further.
Anderson Student Center, which has been a priority of the University’s “Opening Doors” capital campaign, will replace many of the services currently housed in Murray-Herrick Campus Center.
Shepley Bulfinch is completing the project in association with Opus Architects and Engineers and Opus Northwest. Shepley and Opus worked together on the St. Thomas campus in 2000, when they completed the School of Law in downtown Minneapolis.
