Merely days after the trick-or-treating season of 2007, the Memorial Union caught fire mid-day, causing thousands in the building to evacuate.
Psychology and justice studies major Courtney Butchard wasn’t one of the students in the MU at the time. She was stepping off a plane in Portland to watch ASU play the University of Oregon that weekend. She got a text message about the fire. Butchard, now a senior and the Vice President of the National Panhellenic Council, says their offices were on the third floor of the MU and they couldn’t get to their resources.
“The office was completely closed up until the 18th [of August],” Butchard says. “They had been moving it around on campus.”
The rest of that semester and through the winter season, the MU remained closed. The MU reopened in the spring semester and though its doors were open, much of the building was not. Access was limited to the first floor and basement, and students had to navigate construction areas if they walked from one end of the MU to the other.
Now, just a few months from the anniversary of last year’s incident, and $53 million later, the MU is once again fully open to accommodate lunches, host meetings, and cure boredom.
With many repairs needed to be made, Marketing Specialist for the Memorial Union Eliza Robinson says the school used the time after the fire to plan a new M U that would promote student engagement.
“Every decision made was based on meeting the needs of our students,” Robinson says.
Many of the improvements made were on a practical level. Meeting rooms were renovated into larger spaces, and more entrances and exits were added to allow better accessibility, she says. An extra set of doors at the main entrance is part of fire-code regulation. The doors have magnetic locks that would close and lock in the event of an emergency to help contain a fire.
“I’ve seen a few places where everyone is like ‘Ugh! Doors!’ but they’re for a good purpose,” Robinson says.
The first thing that caught construction management senior Brandon Taylor’s eye was the redone second floor. Taylor says he noticed the new carpets, paint, and wall panels put in and thought the job done was remarkable.
“The different colors and shades give different moods.” Taylor says. “It’s like a hotel.”
During all of these upgrades to the new MU, safety was still a top concern for the renovation. Robinson says the entire building has been brought to current fire code regulations, and the building has the latest fire sprinkler and alarm systems. When the fire broke out, there were no sprinklers over the storage area where the originated.
“We’re up to fire code compliance with this renovation.” Robinson says. “There are sprinklers throughout.”
One of best things about the new MU is that it’s hard to tell there even was a fire. Business Junior Kathleen Robbins, a transfer student from Sierra, California, says even after spending a few hours in the building, she was unaware of last November’s events.
“I didn’t even notice that there was a fire,” Robbins says.
As part of ASU’s ideal of the New American University, the MU is adding a new dining experience — a sustainable restaurant named Engrained. Located on the second floor in place of the old Maricopa restaurant, Engrained is expected to be more of an upscale dining experience based on the principle of being sustainable. The food used comes from a certain radius from the university, napkins are made out of recycled materials, the seats are made out of used seatbelts, and food trays are no more due to the amount of water used to clean them.
Outside the MU, students might have noticed a concrete stage on the north side. Robinson says that is actually part of a north plaza project, which will be completed in January 2009 and will include seating and stage structures.
“We’ve already had DJs and groups reserve the stage,” Robinson says.
The MU has been open for more than 50 years, acting as a resource for students and faculty alike. With the new improvements made to the ever-growing university, the MU renovations are just one new part of a changing ASU.
“I think it’s gorgeous,” says Butchard. “When I heard they were renovating the whole second floor I didn’t think it would be this beautiful. Now it’s definitely a place where we can have meetings.”
Robinson feels the MU is better equipped to serve the ASU community.
“We believe that the newly remodeled MU will be an area on campus that our students can enjoy and be proud of.”
— gralbovs@asu.edu
