2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 159
LSU will unveil a new Studio Arts Building, which
will house the College of Art and Design, in the fall of
2022 after historic renovations are complete.
For the first time since 1924, the Studio Arts
Building is undergoing major renovations, according to
the LSU College of Art and Design website.
The building is 41,500 square feet and will cater to
students and faculty within the studio art program.
The project will cost a little over $18 million and is
being funded by the state and private donors.
Formerly called the Old Engineering Shops, the
Studio Arts Building was built in 1924 with nine other
buildings for LSU’s original master plan.
Because the existing building is placed on the
National Register of Historic Places, a complete
historic renovation will take place to comply with
the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the
Rehabilitation of Historic Structures.
Once renovated, the building will contain
modernized facilities for the College of Art and Design,
including ceramics and printmaking and sculpture
programs, as well as office spaces. In addition to
interior organization to meet the needs of the school,
the new Studio Arts Building will have upgraded air
conditioning and ventilation systems as well as an
interior finish upgrade.
Dean of the College of Art and Design, Alcibiades
Tsolakis, is proud of the contributions made by donors
and the state of Louisiana to provide LSU students
with a renovated Studio Arts Building.
“This building will bring together all students
and faculty who are currently dispersed in different
facilities around campus,” Tsolakis said. “It will be a
state-of-the-art facility.”
Tsolakis wants this renovation to expand the
appreciation of art, its expansive culture and its
impactful history to the mass public.
“I want students within the College of Art
and Design to have a creative and collaborative
environment that will promote the arts to the
university community as well as to the Louisiana
community at large,” Tsolakis said.
Scott Andresen, an associate professor at the College
of Art and Design, says the newly renovated building
will allow him to reach out to a broad spectrum of
students within the College of Art and Design.
“For many years, the School of Art has been split
between multiple buildings across campus, and that
has made it hard to create a real identity within the
School of Art,” Andresen said. “This building will
create a central hub for students and faculty alike, a
place where that creative spark will be shared with
each other.”
Andresen also expressed excitement about the new
facilities and how they will impact the school.
“Also, from a logistical standpoint, the newly
renovated facilities will be a game-changer for many
areas in the school: new fabrication facilities, a foundry
and welding facilities, a kiln yard for ceramics, painting
studios, gallery spaces and large open workspaces for
incoming students,” Andresen said.
The added space from the renovations will provide
students with the opportunity to work on their projects
with ample room. Prior to the renovations, students
could only work in the building if it was below
capacity, Andresen said.
“I oversee the freshman art program, and students
have had to work on art projects in their dorms or at
mom and dad’s house,” Andresen said. “The new spaces
for incoming students are enormous, can house 100
students, and will be open all the time. This change
will help create a real studio culture from the first
semester, a place where students work side by side at
all hours of the day.”
Andresen says the most important aspect of the
new Studio Arts Building is that it will be a place for
students, staff and faculty to bond and share their love
and passion for art.
“More than anything, the new Studio Arts Building
provides a home for the School of Art,” Andresen said.
“It is a strange feeling to know other art students but
never actually see what they do because the facilities
are dispersed all around campus. To be able to share
one roof is the most basic but the most important
change that could happen for the School of Art.”
Matthew Jones, a graduate student in the ceramics
department, will be one of the first graduate students
to graduate from the newly renovated Studio Arts
Building.
“It feels strangely opportunistic to be amongst
the first MFA [Major in Fine Arts] students who will
graduate from the new studio arts building,” Jones said.
“It is mighty rare to have the chance to find yourself
creating in such an untainted space.”
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