Three years ago, students took to the polls to decide the future of the SAMU building. Overwhelmingly, students saw the need for more options for food, study spaces, club rooms and event space. In fact, 77% of students who voted in the referendum, were in favour of the SAMU building. Leading up to the referendum
Darryl Kostash is the Director of Building Operations with SAMU. He joined the SAMU team on June 1st, 2018, almost a year after ground broke on the building in order to begin making preparations for operations within the new building. “I was hired at the right time, there was a little bit of a learning
Emma Patterson is the current Vice-President of Operations and Finance at SAMU. She took over the role when the building project was transitioning between conceptualization and construction. Her entry into the role began at the ground-breaking ceremony in June of 2017. From there, Emma has had a hand in everything to do with the construction
Hey it’s you! How are your classes going? We hope that it’s going well. We have some big news to share with you. There’s a building going up! You may or may not have seen the crazy amount of construction going on around building 8 and 9. Oh you did?! Well that’s because the SAMU
MacEwan is growing.
Over the past few years, MacEwan University’s campuses have been centralizing into a single, all-encompassing downtown location. With this centralization has come more programs and more people.
The buildings on MacEwan’s downtown campus can’t serve the needs of our student population: there’s just not enough space. If you’ve ever tried to find a spot to study at lunch, you’ll know what we mean.
The Students' Association of MacEwan University wants to open a new building on campus, dedicated to students: it’ll have space for clubs; new food places that have fresh, local food; extra study space; and plenty of electrical outlets for laptops—maybe even the ones with the USB plugs built right in.
Will the building be linked with a pedway to the rest of campus or the student residence building?
Yes, the building will be connected to campus via pedway. The SAMU building will be right against the 109 Street side of Sport and Wellness, Building 8, so the existing pedway will run right through it.
When will construction begin?
Construction will begin in 2017. If all goes according to plan, the doors will open in 2019.
Can the study spaces have noise restrictions to keep it really quiet? And lots of tables in some areas so students can work in groups and spread out? How about lots of windows?
Yes, yes and YES! We understand that all of our students have different study needs. Thus far, our planning has identified that collaborative, quiet AND silent space is needed. This building is dedicated to creating more space for students and that means space for studying. And windows—you bet!
Will the food will be reasonably priced? I mean, sure, local food is great and all… but it can be pricey, even for small servings.
We don’t have our vendors chosen at this time (a bit too early in the process yet!), but we believe that students should have all sorts of food options without having to break the bank. We will certainly focus on ensuring we find vendors who understand the wants and needs of our students, as well as considering their financial circumstances. We also want to bring some variety to campus, so we’ll be working with the University to ensure we have new and unique food options for students.
What’s going to be in this building?
1. Club space: storage for clubs, a variety of meeting rooms
2. Study space: dedicated space for collaboration and silent study. Tables, rooms, nooks, lounges—you name it.
3. Events: a new and unique space on campus dedicated to events (SAMU, student initiatives, clubs and external clients). The best part: when there isn’t an event, the space is transformed into study space.
4. Retail: more food, better food. We’re excited to provide more food options to our students. Plus, the SAM Centre will be moving into the new building too. This is your one-stop-shop for your U-Pass, Health and Dental inquiries, discounted movie tickets, sport tickets, WEM passes and more!
5. Programs and Services: a new building means an opportunity to better our SAMU programs and services. We will have a dedicated space for the Breakfast Club, more storage for the SAMU Food Bank, safe spaces for Peer Support and more.
6. Offices: SAMU will call the new building home, and this means our offices will be moving into into it. This move means students can find us and access us with ease.
7. Sustainability: how can sustainability be in a building, you ask? How about more windows, natural light, plants (perhaps a green wall), patio space, and an overall emphasis placed on the wellbeing of our students—sound good?
Will the building have more club space? Will clubs get their own offices?
You tell us! Most students’ association buildings offer collaborative space that gives all clubs more space and storage, which we will indeed have.
