This paper examines the Michigan Student Union at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, as an architectural case study in how modern university buildings must serve multiple, sometimes contradictory purposes. The analysis evaluates whether the structure successfully creates a communal gathering space for a large, diverse student body in a cold climate, while also fulfilling commercial, academic, and extracurricular functions. Drawing on observations of the building's layout, Gothic exterior, food court, computer rooms, bookstore, and club offices, the paper argues that the Union effectively draws students together but does so partly through the familiar comforts of mall culture and consumer spending — raising questions about commercialism at the heart of contemporary university life.
In ages past, collective and communal places were often expected to serve a singular function. A church was to bring together individuals who shared a similar faith, for instance. A one-room schoolhouse was to bring together students and an educator, united for the singular purpose of learning. However, as society has grown more complex and diverse, so have the structures that encompass intellectual, recreational, and communal life.
This is perhaps best evidenced on the University of Michigan campus, in the form of the Michigan Student Union. This building is of particular interest not simply because it is so well trafficked by students of the university, but also because it aspires to do so much — namely, to provide a common nutritional, recreational, and functional gathering place for all students.
One reason this is important is due to the climate of Michigan, always a significant architectural consideration. Some students may attend Michigan year-round, but the greatest numbers are present on campus during the coldest months of the year. Michigan is a very cold state, one of the colder states in the country. Thus, students — unlike residents of, for instance, the University of Florida — require a place where they can work together throughout the year. The building must provide them with a comfortable environment while also offering considerable insulation from the elements.
Another important element to consider is that the University of Michigan is a large and spread-out institution. Because it is so large, students may feel lost within its confines. How does one give undergraduates in particular a sense of commonality, a unified ethos, and a sense that they are part of a social and academic community that binds them all together, despite their different backgrounds, interests, and daily pursuits?
The first criterion by which one should judge a student union is whether, structurally, it creates a place where students can be unified in an atmosphere of communality. Does it bring students together or keep them apart? Beyond this, are the methods by which the structure does so consistent with the specific mission of the university of which the student union is a part? Does the student union serve the university's mission in such a way that enriches the academic and extracurricular experience of students and fosters school spirit? And by what structural methods does it do so?
Lastly, are the methods the student union employs consistent with the specific spirit of the university in which it is located? After all, the student union of a large state university may face very different challenges than those of a small liberal arts school. A student union located on a cold, spread-out campus must be different from one in a warm environment, or even at a school that draws a large percentage of students from the local population — individuals who already have a sense of warmth, closeness, and a common background.
One of the Michigan Student Union's most notable initial features, upon entering, is the presence of the bookstore on one side and its international center on the other. This immediately proclaims to a potential visitor that the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor is both an intellectual and an international center. It also shows that school spirit has a prominent place at the heart of the university's social and communal life.
It is interesting to observe how first-time visitors — usually prospective students and their parents — experience this part of the building. They stop and are immediately drawn to the brightness of the bookstore and the university paraphernalia it sells. This appeal of the bookstore, while not initially part of the criteria set for judging the building, suggests that the space immediately serves an important commercial function for the university — one not necessarily appreciated on a daily basis by the existing student body.
Current students who are more familiar with the bookstore will, of course, bypass this area as a matter of routine. However, it is worth noting that many freshmen who are still new to the space will, along with the required course books, select a great deal of university paraphernalia — perhaps owing to the brightly lit, attractively displayed, and spacious nature of the room, which bears little resemblance to a library and a great deal of resemblance to an attractive store at a local mall, familiar to so many suburban and urban communities.
The bookstore, unlike a commonly shared gathering hall, is a retail outlet rather than a communal gathering place, however attractive it may seem. Ultimately, the central question for the student union is whether it provides a "dorm away from dorm" life for current students. This is a more crucial question than might initially be obvious to a passing observer. There is a temptation in such a large university for individuals to become isolated in their dormitories or within fixed social circles. How does one create a space that takes advantage of the university's diversity and encourages all individuals to come together, even in the coldest weather?
The cold is addressed by structuring the building across a variety of levels, so that individuals can enjoy its various functions not by moving horizontally outdoors, but by accessing different floors vertically. An individual can check their mail in the subterranean mailboxes, grab a hamburger at the food court, and then type a paper — after a quick check of email or the course website. The computer rooms are among the next set of spaces that a visitor or student would encounter. To a visitor, this highlights the technological character of the Michigan campus. To a student, it is a comforting reminder that centralized computing resources are available for writing papers or staying connected via the internet.
The presence of a computer room is another incentive for students to leave their dorms and work in a shared space. By necessity, the computer room is somewhat sheltered in its hallway location, so that foot traffic and noise do not disturb those working. Some email terminals are not similarly protected, deliberately allowing for a noisier and more social experience.
The emphasis on communality is evident even in the structure of the food court. Rather than individual restaurants with assigned seating, students may purchase whichever food they desire and then sit with friends who have chosen something different — or who simply want a coffee or a cookie. This arrangement encourages students to discuss their coursework over a late lunch with someone who has already eaten but wants a snack. People with different food preferences do not need to argue about where to go. In something as simple as a food court, communality and individuality are simultaneously affirmed. The largeness and spaciousness of the area, necessary to accommodate the university's large student population, further reinforces this open ambience.
The union's other communal feature is its study lounge, which presents students with a dual temptation. On one hand, it is pleasant to have a place to study communally — where one can speak aloud while working through a difficult calculus problem, rather than sitting in silence in a library carrel. There is an encouragement of debate and a more interactive approach to communal learning in the student union than can take place in a library cubicle. Even writing a paper in the computer room can become a communal experience, as one can ask questions of a classmate who happens to be working nearby. On the other hand, this openness also invites distraction — and again, it ties spending and consumption to the college experience. Rather than eating one's own food in one's own room, students are apt to withdraw money from an ATM, get lost in a study break at the Tap Room, or spend an hour checking email with a friend rather than completing an assignment.
This sort of communality could, of course, be critiqued. An observer might note that, in addition to the main campus dining establishments, the most prominent food vendors in the student union are chain restaurants. For students, this may be a welcome relief from their regular meal plan. But to a critic, it is more troubling. As in a mall food court, there is an illusion of choice. A consumer is presented with many options, but all of these options are essentially interchangeable — from Mrs. Fields cookies to Villa pizza, the same brands found in nearly any mall across the country.
"Gothic exterior contrasts with chain-store interior consumer culture"
"Club offices and student government housed within a shared space"
The Michigan Student Union's comprehensiveness says a great deal about the undergraduate experience at Michigan as a whole — it is large, it is diverse, and possesses a quality of "oneness," yet it is held together within the same old, formalized structure. There are many positive aspects to be observed. Where else can a student enter a building that evokes a cathedral, yet is entertaining and cozy on the inside during a cold winter night, and wide and spacious on a warmer fall day? Where else can so many functions of daily life be so easily accomplished — checking one's mail, running into a friend, grabbing a coffee — even while hurrying to class?
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