A feasibility plan engaged students and campus stakeholders to define what would make the existing Schine Student Center a more student-centered environment. With 1,100 individual points of input over three months, several qualities described what was missing in Schine, including: a memorable, unique and creative destination celebrating the essence of the University; a welcoming, relaxing, comfortable, and vibrant crossroads that encourages lingering throughout the day; flexible environments supporting a vast range of activities for both groups and individuals; and daylight, views, and openness fostering an ease of wayfinding and an inspired sense of belonging and well-being. These qualities provided a guiding framework for change, transforming Schine with the design.
Shape
The existing atrium was opened up creating inviting vistas into previously isolated zones. A new floor opening dramatically frames a view of expanded social space below. The new space’s curving geometry creates unity and belonging. The renewed campus heart comes alive as a setting for tabling, lounging, and conversations, and programming. As food fosters community, Schine’s dining was transfigured into a memorable destination offering seating options ranging from see-and-be seen to intimate nooks and crannies – in other words, something for everyone. An outdoor terrace connects warm and friendly interiors and the emerging activity of the Einhorn Family Walk. Flexible co-working-styled space provide an engaging setting showcasing resources, activities, and organizations, creating an irresistible invitation to get involved or to lead something new.
Inspire
The Schine Student Center’s opening was the answer to a question 75 years in the making: How to create the perfect place for students to come together, which traces back to a 1911 Daily Orange editorial demanding a student center be built. Prior to 1985, there had simply been nothing like it on campus. Embarking on a fourth decade of fostering community, Schine's recalibration once again responds to students’ evolving needs and expectations within a rapidly changing world and a deeply-amplified student experience.
The renovation of the Schine Student Center will return it to a true student union—a place for our students to connect and experience the vibrancy of everything the Syracuse University campus offers.
- Dolan Evanovich Senior Vice President for Enrollment and the Student Experience (via Syracuse News)
