[Imc-makerspace] Fwd: [IMC] UCIMC lobby getting a facelift

[Brian Duggan]

Lots of news today :)
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: "Chris Ritzo" <chris.ritzo at gmail.com>
Date: Feb 19, 2011 7:48 PM
Subject: [IMC] UCIMC lobby getting a facelift
To: "UC IMC" <imc at ucimc.org>, "imc-members" <imc-members at ucimc.org>, <
imc-americorps at lists.chambana.net>

Hello friends,

If you've visited the IMC this weekend you'll notice some pretty major
changes happening in the Broadway street entrance. I wanted to give
you an update on what's happening, some history on this project that
began over a year ago and the great partnership that's making it
possible.

We are fortunate to be working with four faculty members from the UI
School of Architecture on a re-model of the front lobby area. This
will include a new staffing desk, seating, plenty of storage, display
and signage areas, a secure book drop for donations, a computer for
staff to use and log volunteer information, and more. The first thing
you'll notice is that a new coat of paint is going up this weekend.
Sometime in March things will begin going into place and I'm really
excited for this first collaboration with Stewart Hicks, Julie ??,
Roger Hubeli ?? , and ?? to be finally moving forward. The staffing
desk will be in the same location where you've seen Americorps staff
and volunteers sitting during our open hours. Along the north wall
near the C4A entrance there will be seating. The Books to Prisoners
book drop will be integrated into the space. One unique feature of the
remodel will be a continuous wall curving along the exterior walls of
the WRFU studio, proceeding to the red door entrance to the IMC. This
wall will contain integrated storage, corkboard & whiteboard spaces,
speakers and signage, and will serve as a visual pointer to our
entrance. It will not obstruct the WFRU studio window in any way.
These are a few highlights of what's to come. If you're interested in
seeing some updated designs for the front entrance lobby, come to the
March Steering meeting.

Let me share some of the history of this project with you.

Back in March 2010, Stewart Hicks, one of 4-5 faculty members from the
UI School of Architecture, emailed imc at ucimc.org expressing interest
in working with the IMC as a community partner. Their research is to
design and complete building projects and then to write and publish
about it. They had visited the space for an event, and sought us out
as a potential community partner. Several of us in the community
connections group, Beth Simpson, former Americorps member Meme Polk,
current Americorps member and building supervisor Leon McGee and
myself, kept the connection going, sought broader input, gathered
people's ideas and helped build support for the partnership within the
IMC. If you're interested in reading more about how this conversation
got started, you can read the list archives here:
http://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/imc/2010-April/008908.html

Stewart and his colleagues designed some great preliminary ideas for
the first floor IMC space, including plans for the front hall lobby
area that include a seating and staffing area. At the September 2010
Steering meeting the staffing desk move and remodel was approved. Our
partners from the Architecture school presented these initial ideas at
both the Nov. 4th Steering meeting and at the Nov. 13th General
Membership meeting. You can see some of those early ideas here:
http://wiki.ucimc.org/pub/CommunityConnections/UIArchitectureFacultyDesignProjects/Architects-Presentation_small.pdf

I have served as the primary point of contact for this project on
behalf of the Community Connections group, representing the IMC and
bringing ideas and decisions back to the Steering group as we've move
along. Last fall I wrote a letter of support for these faculty
members, committing to the partnership as a community organization so
they could apply for grant funding. In November 2010, they were
awarded $15,000 from the University of Illinois' Office of Public
Engagement grant program. This was very exciting and since then they
have been seeking materials, making designs, and now we are in the
first stages of remodeling the IMC lobby area.

The main focus was to design and envision the space as we use it, not
as dictated by the building itself. The idea is that we're really
"taking ownership" of the space in ways that represent the IMC as a
creative and radical organization, rather than just using what's here
in this 1920's era industrial post office and allowing our energy and
ideas to be diluted by it.

Please share this information with your working group and other IMC
members. I'd be happy to field any questions folks have about the
project to remodel the IMC front entrance. Please feel free to respond
on or off list.

Chris Ritzo
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