Tag: new buildings

It was St. Patrick’s Day 2014. First day of classes after Spring Break. Bleary-eyed students got an amazing wake-up call when they entered Knight Hall and Bauer Hall for the first time.  “Wow,” “Cool,” “Amazing,” were just a few of the exclamations of delight uttered as students stepped into the five-story high glass Atrium for the first time.

The beautiful wood surfaces of the Frick Forum, curved glass banisters, and natural light streaming in through thousands of transparent panels surrounding the Atrium made everyone stop and look up.

Exploring the new classrooms, study rooms, Emerson Auditorium, the stairwells, and elevators was like a huge treasure hunt with surprises behind each door.

Two years later, the newness has not worn off. The Atrium is still sparkly and awe-inspiring when the sun shines or it rains or snows, day or night. Watching campus tours parade through the Atrium, I always smile as the visitors look up and and around  and say, “Wow, this is an amazing place!” just like we did on March 17, 2014.

Celebrate the first day of classes in Knight Hall and Bauer Hall with coffee and donuts at 8:15 a.m. on Monday, March 17 in the Frick Forum. Chancellor Wrighton and I will be there to toast the new buildings with a cup of caffeine on this auspicious occasion! It’s the first of many fun events to celebrate our 4 Buildings. 1 Olin.

Here’s the plan for Monday, St. Patrick’s Day:

See you on St. Patrick’s Day!

Find out how to book a room or cater an event on the new General Services section of CampusGroups. If you can’t find answers there, send questions to: 4Buildings@olin.wustl.edu.

If you’re a webcam junkie and keep tabs on the Olin construction site, you might have spotted the large oval hole that has formed inside the construction site of Knight Hall and Bauer Hall.

Don’t worry, it’s not a mistake!

It’s the future site of what the architects call the “heart” of the building ensemble. The oval opening on the third floor/campus level will serve several purposes:

•   It will allow light to flood down to the lower two floors of the buildings and
•   It will house the Forum, a space modeled on Greek-style amphitheaters

The Forum will be the place for big community events, presentations, classes, or just a great place to hang out with friends, eat lunch, study, check FB, or the Olin Blog. In other words, it’s a multi-purpose space on three levels located under the glass atrium.

Check out the live webcam from the Knight Center roof for the best view of the hole, umm, the Forum!  You can also get a sneak preview of what it will look like a year from this spring when it’s finished!