On Tuesday, University architects met with Associated Students of UNM Joint Council to talk about upcoming renovations to Smith Plaza, as well as get feedback.
Amy Coburn, University architect and director of Planning, Design and Construction, said the renovation of Smith Plaza aims to create an outdoor space that promotes UNM as a destination university.
“The new Smith Plaza will accommodate the diverse University community, by promoting a balance of social and academic activities and providing flexibility to allow for small and large gatherings that will encourage student engagement and connectivity,” Coburn said.
Aside from aesthetics, the project will fix a lot of deferred maintenance, she said, including falling bricks, chipped concrete and empty planters.
“These are all things we want to attend,” Coburn said. “We have to be very careful and very strategic about what we can accommodate in here.”
The project has a budget of $3 million, which comes from institutional bonds, and is set to begin construction in October, and last through the following April.
Amber Straquadine, project manager at Planning, Design & Construction, said that stakeholders in the project include Division of Student Affairs, the Accessibility Resource Center, ASUNM, Safety and Risk Services and UNMPD, among others.
“We’re here because we want to get you guys excited to join us,” Straquadine said to the Joint Council.
Straquadine said they want to “invigorate” the upper level and “enhance” the lower level of the plaza while also making the area easier to traverse.
“Everybody’s going to use those stairs and those ramps,” she said. “We want to make it inclusive for everybody.”
Aaron Zahm, landscape architect with Morrow Reardon Wilkinson Miller, said his firm was engaged by the University community “about this time last year” to begin the first phase, or “site assessment,” of the renovation.
Through that process, Zahm said they analyzed a number of factors, including safety issues, Americans with Disabilities Act compliance, identifying key circulation paths and existing vegetation.
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Zahm said they found that “very little” of what was built originally meets current ADA compliance.
Victor Torrez from the Accessibility Resource Center was curious about where the area stands in terms of compliance.
“I know you mentioned the ramps and everything,” Torrez said. “But I just don’t have an idea about what is not ADA compliant about it right now.”
Zahm said there are very few ramps that meet the current standards and, as an example, Zahm cited the “maze ramp” leading to the higher level as not compliant and called it “dangerous and scary.”
Other ramps at Smith Plaza are also not compliant, however, Zahm said, in terms of handrails, slope, landing spaces and other factors.
“They’re close, but not where they need to be, and we’re obligated to fix that and bring everything into compliance the second we start touching this project,” he said.
Coburn said Smith Plaza is structured in an older, “more traditional” style, where ramps are placed on the corner rather than integrated.
“We’re going to look at different opportunities and we’ll see,” she said.
Aside from safety, the “big picture” goals for the project include enhancing a sense of community, he said. That means bringing more people to Smith Plaza and letting it function for more types of events, other than the Hanging of the Greens and Welcome Back Days.
“Right now, most people just see it as a place to pass through — you go from one end to the next,” Zahm said. “We want to create opportunities for more informal, passive use of that space during the day, similar to how the Duck Pond may be used.”
The design team is currently in the design, development and programming phase, Zahm said.
In the next couple of months, he said they will be engaging students through Facebook, Twitter polls and holding two workshops to ask for student input. The first one will be on Thursday in the SUB lobby across from Satellite Coffee.
“We’ll be asking for feedback on the project and for you to give us your thoughts,” Zahm said. “So that you really have some ownership in the project.”
After receiving adequate feedback, the project will go to bidding at the end of the summer, he said.
Coburn, Straquadine and Zahm then opened the floor for suggestions and questions from ASUNM Joint Council members.
Ideas from the different members included everything from possible art installations and shade structures to handicap access and dryness.
ASUNM President Kyle Biederwolf suggested that better lighting would help Smith Plaza.
“It’s kind of scary to walk out of the SUB or walk out of Zimmerman and look into this plaza and basically just see pitch black,” he said. “Lighting doesn’t always equal safety, but I believe people are going to feel a lot safer if there is light.”
Torrez said, as a handicapped person, the area is also “tough to navigate” due to cyclist and skateboarder presence as well.
Zahm said part of the issue is how “encouraging” the current layout of Smith Plaza is to skateboarders.
“It’s just very attractive (to skateboarders),” he said. “There are so many people that walk through that space that there’s this immediate conflict.”
Zahm said he doesn’t want to say skateboarders “can’t” go there, but suggested trying to make Smith Plaza less attractive to skateboarders.
Tierra Hudson from African American Student Services suggested an outside stage space for student performances.
Straquadine said they will make sure there is still adequate space for special events, as well as booths and tables, asking if students would be interested in using the space for studying and more socialization.
“The goal would be to accommodate all the current events and then expand that to do even more,” Zahm said.
Matthew Reisen is the news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @MReisen88.
