’ a place where they could feel motivated and creative. The design features random platforms where you can sit or stretch out. There s mini- golf and other games. There s custom-built study pods where you can be alone. I used ’ - vibrant colors and foor-to ceiling glass that lets in lots of natural light, and there s green turf on the walls to absorb sound. ’ ” ’ The reception to Asef s work at North East is universal. When working with Keyman, it s clear that you re working with someone who is a visionary and someone who can see and use space as an expansive design element, said MNE Vice President Dave Hyland. “Keyman has created something truly unique that our students use every day, can see as an extension of themselves, and about which they feel very proud. All of us at Mercyhurst North East are overjoyed with what Keyman designed for us. After witnessing the eye-popping transformation of the union, Pifer was “ ’ ’ ” ” determined not to settle for less with the library projects. With the Ridge College of Intelligence Studies and Applied Sciences committing heavily to expansion in areas of cyber security
“ He had a comrade in Asef, who believes our surroundings afect the way we think. You can t teach creativity in a non-creative environment, Asef said. You have to practice in an innovative ’ ” “ and data analytics, the new lab and operations center, funded by a $1 million investment from nationally technology company MCPc, had to be nothing short of sublime. ’ Asef s plans (see sketches at left) call for clean lines and sharp, often unexpected, angles. Perhaps most striking is the entrance, where strips of built-in LED lights span the deep blue walls to create striking patterns. And don t expect all walls and ceilings to meet at standard right angles. TVs, monitors, clocks and lights don t hang on the white aluminum paneled walls – they re built in. Everything in the lab is custom-designed and specially built. ’ ’ ’ space. The spaces where you work or study have an impact on you. If our goal is to send students out into the cyber security world, why not bring real-work operations into our space here? Why not give our students that kind of experience?”
’ The new facilities are expected to open sometime in the spring. Asef s next charge, meanwhile, is to design the main foor renovation, made possible through a $500,000 gift from alumna and retired Trustee Ellen Ryan and her husband, David. The details are still being fnalized, but Director of University Libraries Darci Jones says the library is a place where tradition meets technology. The main foor design includes efciency initiatives and more learning spaces, a modernized circulation desk, a technology assistance area, an updated writing center and tutoring services area, upgraded ofces and much more. Two gifts, $250,000 each from the Henry L. Hillman Foundation and the Arnold D. Palmer 2003 Charitable Trust, will make possible construction of the Ridge Reading Room to enhance the Thomas J. and Michele Ridge Collection. (See related story on the Palmer gift, page 20.)
’ Celebrating the opening of the new MNE Student Union (from left): Morgan Barksdale, fall student government president; Trustee Christina Marsh; Vice President David Myron; Director of Student Life Michelle Simpson; President Michael Victor; Vice President David Hyland; designer Keyman Asef; Provost David Dausey; Deacon Raymond Sobina; and De Martaz Turner, fall student government vice president
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