Montview Student Union Liberty University
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Project Overview The Montview Union at Liberty University is a gathering place for students, faculty, and student life professionals at the locus of the university community, where academic pursuits are complemented with cultural, social, and recreational services. Emblematic of the university and its mission, the Union makes a place where meaningful relationships can be nurtured. Locating the Union at the center of a new Campus Walk – which links the entire spectrum of campus life, from recreation to residential – ensures the Union’s success in serving as a beacon of campus activity.
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Keystone of a Campus Transformation In 2010, Liberty embarked upon an ambitious building campaign – guided by a new campus master plan – designed to dramatically recast the campus’ physical identity and envision a new physical core. A reinvigorated commitment to a student-centered landscape sparked the elimination of poorly-built metal buildings and haphazard parking lots and roadways to make way for a new Commons – a campus lawn space that organizes key academic and student life buildings around a Campus Walk. The keystone of the Commons is the Montview Union – which fronts the Campus Walk and energizes its full eastern edge with active student life programs and retail dining venues that spill out onto the building’s broad steps and into its arcades and elevated porches.
Existing Conditions
Campus Transformation Montview Student Union
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Demoss Center
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Music Wing
10 Academic Lawn
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3
Science Wing
11 Landmark Tower
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Dining
12 Science Hall
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Reber Thomas Dining Hall
13 Falwell Library
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Hill Dorms
14 Lake Liberty
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Vines Center
15 Residential Commons
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Circle Dorms
16 School of Music
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
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Before
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After
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Shifting Student Life to the Heart of Campus The Montview Union is not a stand-alone structure. It is actually an addition to the largest academic building on campus, DeMoss Hall. The Union springs off the blank back wall of DeMoss, breaks down its scale, and creates an inviting and welcoming front that supports the new Commons and Campus Walk. Connecting the Union to the core academic building on campus transforms what once was an inwardly-focused “big box” into a dynamic center for academic and student life. Previously, Liberty considered their vast student recreation center on the north end of campus as their default student center. It wasn’t until planning for the Montview Union came into focus that Liberty recognized the importance of shifting campus life from the north end to this new “center of gravity,” in the words of the Provost. In recognizing that central shift, Liberty whole-heartedly embraced the student union concept: where it “is the gathering place of the college and serves as a unifying force that honors each individual and values diversity …[and] fosters a sense of community that cultivates enduring loyalty to the college.”
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“ The first time I walked in, I felt like I was on a college campus. I like the open layout of the building and how everybody has their own individual space but it’s also very communal. I love the big windows. It’s nice to be able to see outside. It’s not so dark and daunting like previous buildings on campus. It doesn’t feel like a serious, studious space … it’s more of a living room for students.”
L i b e r t y St u dent I nte r v i e we d du ri ng O p e ning Week
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
A Rich Mix of Uses The Union is home to a variety of social, student life, and dining opportunities, customized to serve Liberty’s unique culture. Student lounges, study spaces, and meeting rooms provide flexible places for studying and gathering. On the topmost floor, a multipurpose event room enjoys views of campus while, on lower floors, a bowling alley and technologyrich game areas encourage recreational fun. The Union is most populated during the early evening, when student leadership groups such as Student Government and Clubs + Orgs populate open work and gathering areas. Such components of the Union have prominent locations in the building and find useful expression on the exterior to draw students in and encourage them to participate. Student Life Professionals are strategically integrated throughout the building to serve and support students. The Campus Services department is located near the building’s entrance and acts as a central information gathering hub. Departments such as the Center for Multicultural Enrichment and the Military Veterans Center help champion the Union’s mission through outreach and events that build an educational community out of diversity.
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Making a Place: The Role of the Atrium The Union’s entrance is marked by a graceful canopy and monumental steps that reach out to the campus and engage the landscape. Students enjoy the shelter and seating of the porch, and the raised stone platform can be used as a performance space for events like graduation. The exterior’s sense of solidity is balanced by careful attention to materials that add texture and color to the interior. The building’s massing forms a multi-story atrium – a central gathering space where filtered natural light penetrates deep into the building to animate the space. At night, the atrium glows like a lantern, offering opportunities for camaraderie within. As a magnetic social destination, the atrium provides much needed student lounge, study, and gathering areas between classes. A vibrant open room, the atrium encourages chance encounters and community-building while simultaneously maintaining a sense of intimacy for students to be alone or study in small groups. The room is vertically integrated with connecting stairs that offer an intuitive wayfinding experience. A variety of seating options allows students to have a quick chat, or settle in for longer study. A carefully crafted wooden screen wall acts as a hearth– a recognizable element that supports gathering.
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Montview Student Union Layout
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4 13 6
3 2
11 1 8
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12 10 Level 2 1
Atrium
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Mezzanine
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Kitchen
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Campus Recreation
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Center for Multicultural Enrichment
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Clubs + Organizations
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TV + Games
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Bridge to Landmark Tower
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Campus Services
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Existing Demoss Hall
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Finishing Kitchen
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3-Season Room
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Demoss Lobby + Porch
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Bowling Alley
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U-Foods Grill
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New Arrival in Demoss
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Military Veteran Center
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Outdoor Dining
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Teahouse Lounge
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Alumni Ballroom
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Dining Venue: Argo Tea
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Porch
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Roof Terrance
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Dining Venue: Star Ginger
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Seating Steps
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Loading Dock
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Dining Venue: Garbonzo’s
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Academic Lawn
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Student Government
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Dining Venue: Wood Fire Grill
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
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Level 3
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Level 1
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Level 0 - Basement
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Building Community with Food The Union’s dining options create socially-rich destinations where students can gather together to participate in meals that strengthen their relationships with each other and with Liberty. Students can choose between six unique micro-restaurants, each offering its own distinctive atmosphere and celebrating healthy food. Thoughtful furniture, interior signage, and circulation strategies guide students in coming together to experience the ritual of meal-sharing. Flexibility is achieved through multi-purpose components that allow dining services to throttle service up during peak meal times and down again during off-hours – allowing dining areas to double as places for entertainment, recreation, and study. The 3-Season Dining Room can be reserved for communal gathering and events featuring family-style dining. In good weather, large windows open to campus views and garden al fresco meals.
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
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Liber t y Uni ver sit y Mont view Student Union
Sustainable Strategies The Union implements many sustainable design practices, both as an independent building and as a harbinger of campus improvements. Daylighting, Views + Lighting Generous windows and skylights bathe the Union in natural light and reinforce connections to the campus outside. Daylight harvesting sensors ensure the quality of natural light and moderate necessary artificial lighting levels accordingly. As part of a campus-wide upgrade plan, the Union utilizes energy-saving LED fixtures with wireless lighting controls that analyze and measure lighting use. Wireless occupancy and vacancy sensors automatically switch lights off in unoccupied rooms. Such strategies improve the campus environment, reduce energy bills, and ultimately pass savings on to student programs. Dining Services & Recycling Sodexho, Liberty’s dining services provider, stopped using trays – which encourages healthy portions and significantly reduces the amount of food being thrown out. Food waste is taken to Liberty’s Morris Campus Garden, where an in-vessel composter transforms waste into nutrients. Seasonal crops that are grown in the garden, in turn, are donated to dining services and incorporated into food preparation.
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VMDO Architects vmdo.com | 434.296.5684 200 E Market St Charlottesville, VA 22902 1200 18th Street NW Suite 700 Washington, DC 20036
For more information on Higher Education work please contact:
For more information on Montview Union please contact:
David Oakland, FAIA, LEED AP oakland@vmdo.com
Jim Richardson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C richardson@vmdo.com
Joe Atkins, AIA, LEED AP BD+C atkins@vmdo.com