Renovated patio provides new space for student programs

By Craig Chamberlain

A   versatile  facility  for  UI  student  programs  was   opened
officially  last weekend when the ribbon was cut on the  recently
enclosed and renovated patio at the Illini Union.

The  ribbon-cutting kicked off two evenings of  entertainment  to
celebrate  the grand opening and show off the space, designed  to
accommodate  a  variety  of  entertainment  and  other   programs
catering  to  students  but open to the university  community.  A
contest to name the space is under way.

The patio renovation is the result of discussions at a retreat of
the Illini Union Board in 1988, according to Ed Slazinik,
associate director of the Illini Union. The board members, almost
all students, were asked at that retreat what was missing in the
facilities available at the Union, he said. Space for student
organization offices and for student programs both were
identified as needs.

The first need was met with the completion of a second-floor
student organization office complex last year, Slazinik said. The
patio renovation, which enclosed more than 8,000 square feet of
open-air space in the middle of the Union, was designed to
address the second need.

The Illini Union Board that proposed the project suggested that
the facility should be able to accommodate a wide variety of
needs, from study space and small discussion groups - mostly
during the day - to live music, comedians and small theater
productions on evenings and weekends. In looking over the new
facility, Slazinik said he thinks "it's pretty much what those
students wanted, and once we get things going, I think it's going
to be what the students today want."

"There was a real demand for program space that was more than
just a room," said Nikki Kolaz, a graduate student and the
program manager for the new facility. To accommodate that demand,
the new facility features a stage, a food-and-beverage service
area, a large central patio space, and two smaller raised seating
areas, or "porches," on the two ends of the room. To let in
natural light through the ceiling, three "lantern" window
structures were installed on the roof.

The patio enclosure is limited to student activities, Slazinik
said, and will not be available for many of the activities held
in other large rooms of the Union. He already has turned down
requests for the space for conferences and weddings, he said.

During the day, when programs are not scheduled, the patio
enclosure will serve as a place for students to "hang out" or
study, Kolaz said. Music will be playing and a food service will
be open, offering coffee, soft drinks and pastries, she said.

The total cost of the project, which included fire safety
improvements required in other parts of the building as a result
of the renovation, was $2.4 million, Slazinik said. The money was
raised as part of a revenue bond sale in 1991 to finance
construction and land purchases for the university's self-
supporting Auxiliary Facilities System. The system includes more
than 50 facilities on both the Urbana-Champaign and Chicago
campuses, including residence halls, parking facilities, student
health centers, unions, recreation centers and sports facilities.
Such facilities receive no direct state capital or operating
funds.