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Students chose a design created by architecture students for the renovation of Loftin Student Center in two days of voting.
Design 2 won the competition in a 145-58 vote over Design 1. Both were created by teams of eight students in Professor Isabel Garcia's ARCH 2470, Architectural Design 3, class.
The winning design replaced the niche of pay-phones in Loftin with an "i-Pod center" and has wooden benches, ranging from 18 inches to 2 feet in height, forming a random pattern across the first floor to increase seating capacity.
The class presented for the umpteenth time Wednesday - but this time to a professional architect hired by the district and to an Alamo Community College District facilities project manager.
"We've taken all appropriate steps and added steps to incorporate students," student life Director Jorge Posadas said Wednesday.
The class was randomly divided into two groups in the beginning of the semester and spent about eight weeks laboring over their class project, which received approval for a $170,000 budget for renovations from the Student Activity Fee Committee. Wednesday, Architect Aaron Clark of Durand-Hollis Rupe Architects Inc., or DHR, surveyed Loftin and met with members of the class.
He said he doesn't anticipate any changes to Group 2's renovations and that all appears feasible.
Group 1 will remain active by observing and contributing ideas throughout the renovation process and may also see some of their original design used.
If furniture chosen by Group 2 happened not to be cost-effective or the material wasn't of a desired durability, Group 1's furniture, if optimum, would replace Group 2's, Posadas said.
He said this would apply to all aspects of the design.
Now, the class's role has flipped. Once designers, the students are now the client. All of Clark's adjustments will be laid out before the class to allow them to give input and propose solutions, Posadas said.
Group 2 attracted two-thirds of the votes in the election in which a master list was not used, although flashing a student ID was compulsory.
Some students voted twice by waiting for those who checked IDs to be relieved, The Ranger observed. Posadas said that would not have made a difference in the outcome.
"There would have had to have been significant duplication," Posadas said.
The voting was to gauge student opinion, which constitutes a sizable portion in determining the winner; however, Posadas said President Robert Zeigler, the board of trustees and others ultimately are the decision-makers.
He said if the voting were for something relying solely on votes, a master list would have been used. Louis Kreusel, district facilities project manager, said the construction project will be put out for bids.
John Strybos, director of facilities construction management, said Thursday the budget would cover all costs associated with renovations: design, construction, inspection fees and furniture and equipment.
If costs were to exceed the allocated budget, Strybos said he would work to funnel money from elsewhere to see the project through.
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