Matt Mitgang | Student Life

On Saturday, chairs were set up in College Hall for a meeting about University pre-orientation programs. ResLife hopes that College Hall will provide a gathering space for large meetings, meals, speakers and Residential College events.

Long tables, high ceilings, colored banners and spirited traditions in a formal dining hall may sound more Harry Potter than Washington University, but this fall, students may find plenty of Hogwarts comparisons to make at College Hall.

The new College Hall is part of a made-over South 40 that will greet students as they return to campus this fall, in addition to the completed South 40 dining facilities. Brittany Roetzel, the assistant director for special facilities and programs at the Office of Residential Life (ResLife), hopes that the opening of College Hall will bring culture and vitality to the Residential College system.

“The biggest tradition we’re starting this fall is Residential College dinners,” Roetzel said. “We think it will be really neat to have a few hundred students all eating together, all eating the same family-style [meal]. It’s an interesting way to build community.”

With the capacity to seat 450 students, College Hall provides a potential venue for dances, speakers and acoustic concerts. Its mixture of round and rectangular tables can be arranged in a variety of ways for different functions.

“We’ve always had a desire to get a whole Residential College together in a space for an event, and College Hall fills that gap,” Roetzel said.

But according to Roetzel, members of ResLife are excited about College Hall as more than just a physical space.

“[College Hall] has added, especially for the RAs, a little more enthusiasm and excitement. So I think it’s for them…more of an idea and a concept, ” Roetzel said.

The building should eventually be LEED certified.

Additionally, College Hall will be home to Residential College banners. Each banner will feature the name and colors of its Residential College; the Congress of the South 40 (CS40) and Wash. U. will each hang a banner as well. According to Tim Lempfert, the associate director of ResLife, displaying the banners—and College Hall as a whole—will promote the Residential College model, which aims to enhance student experiences at the University.

“I definitely think [the purpose of College Hall is] to build upon the spirit and culture and community in each of the Residential Colleges,” Lempfert said.

According to Roetzel, so far students have reacted positively to College Hall. Joe Sutherman, the speaker of CS40, is excited about the space’s potential.

“I wouldn’t harp anything except positivity because [College Hall] is the bomb,” Sutherland said. “There’s something very special that happens when you come together and eat together.”

Despite the completion of Umrath House and the first phase of South Forty House, construction continues on the South 40. Some students expressed surprise at how much the South 40 has changed. (Paul Goedeke | Student Life)

South 40 residents moved back to campus this August to find the first phase of construction in the area finished and the second part already underway.

The first phase consisted of the construction of two new dorms—the South 40 House and Umrath House, as well as the construction of two new dining facilities housed in the South 40 House.

“My first reaction was, ‘Wow, that’s definitely different than when I left,’” sophomore Eric Salzberg said. “I am not that wild about the new facades. They just look kind of fake, and not college dorm-y to me.”

The former Wohl Center, which previously housed two dining facilities, the fitness center, mail room and convenience stores, was demolished over the summer to make way for the current phase of construction.

“I think the eateries are the biggest difference, especially Bear’s Den,” sophomore Brian Kline said. “It used to be really open and central, like a hub. Now it’s like an underground tunnel.”

Other students are taking issue with the exercise facility currently available on the South 40. A temporary fitness center has been set up in Umrath House, but it lacks some of the features of the former facility.

“The fact that there are no weight machines is ridiculous,” sophomore Melissa Baker said.

The current construction has also led to limited recreational space on the South 40.

“I am not particularly fond of that road that now runs through the Swamp. I liked the open space of the Swamp,” Salzberg said. “The amount of open area has since been diminished on the 40.”

The construction has also made it more difficult for students living in certain dorms to move around the South 40.

“It’s really inconvenient to get around, to get to campus,” said sophomore Monatrice Lam, who has to go to main campus from Mudd House each day.

Some students, however, said they do not mind the construction.

“It hasn’t really hindered my everyday life,” Kline said.

Paul Goedeke | Student Life

Sophomore Andrew Larson echoed this sentiment.

“Its not a big inconvenience,” Larson said. “I don’t think it’s that big of a deal. There will always be construction going on. We are enjoying the benefits of previous construction.”

“I’m excited to see what they build. It looks like it is going to be pretty,” freshman Becca Zod said.

The construction will be completed by the 2010-2011 school year. Additions will include an expansion of Bear’s Bakery & Grill to house a new Bear Mart, an Indian station and a Mongolian grill.

The temporary dining facility located on the first floor of South 40 House will be removed and replaced with offices and a kosher kitchen.

Another South 40 addition will be College Hall, a major assembly space on the South 40 that will also feature dining space for students.

“I am really excited about next year, because after all of the construction is over, it will be more convenient than ever to get around the 40,” Lam said.

Phase I of construction on the South 40 will be completed with the opening of Umrath Hall and part of the new Wohl Center this fall. Left: Umrath Hall under construction this summer. Right: the architect’s rendered image of the finished building. (l: Matt Lanter | Student Life; r: Courtesy of WU Facilities)

With move-in day quickly approaching, Washington University administrators say construction of the long-awaited Umrath Hall and Wohl Center on the South 40 is going as planned.

“There are certain activities lagging, certain activities ahead of schedule, but we are overall on schedule,” said Steven Rackers, director of capital projects & records.

While masonry and landscaping are slightly behind schedule, some interior furnishing remains ahead.

Phase I of the construction will be done before fall move-in, according to Project Manager Nancy Marshall. This first phase includes the new Umrath and Wohl residential areas, a fitness center, certain stations at Bear’s Den, part of Bear Mart and a temporary dining facility.

Residential spaces will be ready for early move-in students, which includes freshman participants in pre-orientation programs, student advisors and resident advisors.

Phase II—which consists of the completion of the new Bear’s Den, an upgraded Bear Mart and College Hall, an assembly space for the residential colleges—will be done by August 2010.

Dean of Students Justin Carroll wrote in an e-mail that construction for College of Hall will start after the old Wohl is completely demolished. The University, he wrote, expects it to be done by fall 2010.

According to a description from the architecture firm Mackey Mitchell and Associates—Umrath and Wohl’s designers—the lower levels of Umrath and Wohl will feature student activity spaces to accommodate 3,000 residents and a new dining service facility.

“Modeled after European streetscapes, the site features an upper and lower plaza, which creates ‘outdoor rooms.’ Cascading stairs, ramps and a sloped garden lead from the adjacent parking garage to the lower plaza, creating a social heart for the residential neighborhood,” the firm’s description reads.

Due to the new Wohl’s LEED Silver certification, there will be other noticeable changes in Bear’s Den, such as china dishes instead of disposable ones to help reduce waste. The kitchen will use energy-efficient hoods to reduce energy use, and food wastes will be sent to a composter.

The loading dock near the dining facilities will be sheltered by a green roof that provides not only recreation space but also a vegetable and herbs garden for students to cultivate.

As for residential areas, Umrath will house 99 freshman students and three upperclassmen resident advisors. Sixty-eight of these students will live in four-person double suites joined together by a shared bathroom, 21 will live in triple units, and 10 will live in double units.

Three residential advisors and 125 upperclassmen will live in the new Wohl building. Of these, 108 will live in four-person single suites, six in three-person single suites, two in a two-person single suite and six in individual double rooms.

Wohl and Umrath’s future residents say they are looking forward to the changes that the new buildings will bring to the South 40.

“I think the new building will better the look of the South 40 since the construction will be over,” senior Brandy Randall, an RA on Umrath 4, wrote in an e-mail. “Once new Wohl is complete it will bring about new eating options as the cafeteria choices will be enhanced and the variety of food will increase.”

The excitement is enhanced by prospects of a new residential college—formed by Rubelmann Hall, Umrath and Wohl.

“Adding Wohl and the upperclassmen to a once freshmen-only residential college will diversify the types of programs we put on,” said senior Rebecca Shareff, an RA on Umrath 3. “With a new res-college comes our new mascot, the Red Umbrella Whales, and a huge source of pride and energy.”