Sabine Bellasis

The wood clapboard houses of New England had small windows and large fireplaces to help minimize the cold; adobe designs of the Southwest employed extra-thick walls to keep out the heat. In the winter of 1943, a new refrigeration unit was installed in the basement of the Commons to accommodate the large numbers of trainees who would need to be fed during the summer. They believed that students who had used the Commons Dining Center would be accommodated in the newly-renovated Towers Dining Center. In the fall of 1940, students met with new Commons Director Catherine Spooner, who had herself just graduated from the college in 1939. They asked that the dance floor and the fountain room be open Monday through Saturday from noon until 7PM. They wanted couples attending dances to be able to leave and return during the course of the dance. By the summer of 1938, the dance floor already needed to be refinished. In the summer of 1942, the recreation hall, the main lounge, and the mezzanine were redecorated and fitted with new drapes. Progress continued on plans for minneapolis exterior remodeling or expanding the Commons when the Regents approved a $3 student fee increase, earmarked for that purpose, to begin in 1962. Dean Paul Bender announced that the remodeled Commons would include a new kitchen, along with a 266 seat auditorium, television lounge, table tennis and billiards room, art gallery, chapel or meditation room, browsing library, music listening room, and craft shop. Grumbling continued over things such as the Faculty Men's Lounge, a room that some students believed could be put to better use. Whether your building is brand new or hundreds of years old there will always be things to diagnose, fix, maintain, or indoor environment problems or air quality problems related to the building's condition. The building houses offices of Alumni Relations, University Development, and the UNI Foundation. If you're building from scratch, you've got the most leeway in creating the bath size, location, and configuration you want. After all, they want you to provide that rave review for their next prospective customer! Educate yourself ahead of time, and you'll avoid "sticker shock," enjoy a better relationship with your bath professionals, and have a greater chance of getting exactly what you want. A sarcastic College Eye writer suggested that it made better sense to expand the Library, since, in his opinion, students were using the Library for socializing rather than for study. He suggested converting the Library stacks into a combination snack bar and lounge. John Zahari, Director of Dining Services, stated that the Commons would function simply as a dining facility and lounge for residents of Bartlett, Lawther, and Baker Halls. In June 1963, Director Dale Brostrom announced that the name Commons would be changed to Union as "the first step in a program . . . to make the Union the social, cultural, and recreational center of campus life." He stated that the name Union would imply "the greatest amount of usage" by students, off-campus groups, and faculty and staff. Director of Dining Services John Zahari was certainly correct when he predicted that this trend might soon spread to other dining centers. In 1978 the Commons cafeteria started a significant trend when it offered the first non-smoking area in a campus dining center. At the same time that students were beginning to think about the Commons as a student union, the Regents authorized the installation of two new food service lines in the Commons. This method served exactly the same food in the same portions to everyone. They can be sized and shaped in countless ways. Appropriate upgrades can return as much as 70 to 90 percent or more of their cost to you at resale time, making it much easier to get your asking price on the home. Trees have a special place in the home landscape, supplying privacy, shade, and wind protection while adding color, texture, and natural beauty. By adding built-in seating, planters, places for sun and shade, and perhaps even a water feature, multilevel decks can become more popular living spaces than the rooms indoors. They can be positioned to mark a stairway, denote a change in levels, and divide the deck into zones. An abundance of trees, nearby wildlife, brisk starry nights, and an informal approach to living are all part of the outdoor experience that can be enjoyed from a deck. If more privacy or less street noise is required, the railing can take the form of a solid half-wall or low lattice fence, perhaps topped with planters.