91ÊÓƵ

When Jim Kalvelage helped design an expansion and renovation of Straub Hall on the University of Oregon campus in Eugene, he wanted the project to get the building noticed.

“It’s really sort of a found site,” said Kalvelage, a principal with Portland-based Opsis Architecture said. “Nobody really thought of it as a prime building site.”

The expanded Straub Hall, near renovated Earl Hall, will be much harder to overlook, Kalvelage said. The 18,000-square-foot expansion, designed by Opsis in partnership with Eugene-based Rowell Brokaw Architects, includes a 520-seat lecture room; it will become one of the largest on campus, he said. Plans also call for a 150-seat lecture hall, a 100-seat classroom and five classrooms able to accommodate between 30 and 40 students.

“Now I think every student that goes to U of O will remember Straub,” Kalvelage said. “These will be the nicest classrooms on campus.”

The $31 million project will provide more classroom space in the heart of campus near the Erb Memorial Union and Student Recreation Center, and preserve the historic character of 85-year-old Straub Hall, he said.

The university has long sought a place to build a large lecture hall, Kalvelage said. The campus’ only 500-seat lecture hall was built in the 1950s, he said.

To design the new lecture hall, Kalvelage said he consulted with professors and instructors about what they seek in a teaching space.

“We really worked closely with them and made quite a few refinements to make sure it worked for them,” he said.

The instructors wanted to be able to interact with every student, Kalvelage said, so the lecture hall’s balcony will have a guardrail made from transparent metal mesh and be accessible from a staircase.

A glass barrier was nixed by the university because it would require too much upkeep, Kalvelage said.

“We want to make sure the balcony feels connected to the main auditorium,” he said. “No seats are isolated, no matter where you are.”

Straub Hall, which houses the psychology and linguistics departments, was once a men’s dormitory, Kalvelage said. The former dining room, now used as a classroom, will be transformed into a reception area for the main lecture hall when the university hosts talks by visiting dignitaries, he said.
“It’s kind of brought back the social nature that the original dorm and dining hall had,” Kalvelage said.

Straub Hall’s new classrooms will be lit by daylight through large windows and skylights, he said. The heating and air conditioning system will rely on chilled water in pipes that run through trusses in the floor, he said, and hot or cold air will come out of the floor or the walls instead of the ceiling.

“The cool air or warm air is closer to the occupant,” Kalvelage said. “It’s much more efficient (and) more comfortable.”

Construction on the Straub Hall expansion is scheduled to begin in October, he said. The project is slated to finish in February 2015.

“The hope is that this area that feels so reserved from the campus is woven in,” Kalvelage said.

“On the Boards” is a weekly feature that spotlights local firms’ best design work. Submissions from architectural and engineering firms are encouraged. Please call 503-802-7222 or email [email protected].