AUP's Latest Campus Makeover
The AUP campus redevelopment plan has been underway since September 2014. The next phases will open the renovated Grenelle building, and begin renovations on an entirely new building. As I sat down with the school's president, Celeste Schenck, she said, "It will be our first real campus" once all of the renovations are done.
Grenelle will officially reopen its doors on June 3, 2016, and the upgrade is amazing. The building will really be a teaching and learning hub for students as it will house all departments, excluding art, art history and science which will be located in Combes. The architecture will take on a more modern design than of Combes, featuring blue accent colors, more glass to create a loft-like feel, and a mix between tile, carpet, and wood floors. The layout of the building will have two penthouse floors, as well as new department offices. Due to its size, the English department will get a whole floor to itself. I'm sure teachers will be very happy about this, since they will finally have a permanent office, rather than having to pack up and move almost every semester. The design of each classroom will have an overall theme of one blue wall, and a white board covering the entire opposite wall.
The building will also have more interactive components, such as faculty and student lounges, which will make talking to your teacher or friends easier. In addition, an Instagram photo wall will be set up and will occasionally host competitions to find the best photo, my favorite feature so far. With this big space, students will constantly be able to curate and display their own artwork around the building. These new installations will help to uncover hidden talents certain students might have. Lastly, to tie the atmosphere together, a sculpture garden will also be installed.
The new building is located at 69 Quai D'Orsay, which is perfectly placed back-to-back with our Combes building, and will feature a gorgeous view of the Grand Palais. It is set to be completely excavated and be connected with the Combes building, bringing the center of student life to Combes. Students will be allowed to step inside around January 2018. Like Grenelle, this building will also have some great additions, including a library with a glass ceiling that will be installed as a gateway between the two buildings. Since the focus is on being a student learning center, it will cater to all different needs such as advising, ARC, career, peer tutoring, etc. A new civic media lab will also be installed, along with six to seven classrooms.
"Every single space has been renovated, and we have gone from ten to five buildings ... [and] have reoriented our campus more towards the Seine. We [currently] own three of the five buildings," Celeste Schenck says.
The purpose of this was not only to renovate AUP's "shabby instead of shabby chic" decor, but to create a friendly space that reflected the transitional period a student would take to become a "global explorer" through our many learning places. President Schenck also notes that their purpose was to "[create] more gathering spaces...[since] the whole point of liberal arts college is to get the right people together and give them the opportunity to interact."
Celeste says, "It has been my dream to give the students a student center. Every time I go to Combes, my heart just leaps up. I see them working, clustered in groups, talking to each other and their teachers. That's a real personal dream of mine, and means a lot to me to get here today."
Click to view the blueprints for both the Grenelle and Quai d'Orsay buildings.
