By Jason He

Gargoyle staff reporter


Posted Sunday, June 3, 2007, The OG, news

THE SCHOOL YEAR'S finally over, and while plenty of students will be spending their next three months celebrating, rising junior Isaac Chambers is making preparations for a unique independent study project: to design a new building for Uni High.

In May, he invited nearly a thousand students, staff, alumni and parents to participate in a Web-based survey about what they would like to see in a new building; 400 or so completed that survey.

Shortly after Chambers sent those invitations, Director/Principal Kassie Patton stated in a schoolwide e-mail that there are currently no construction plans for the school, but she expressed support for the motivation behind the project.

“We're not endorsing any of the ideas or plans that Isaac talks about in his materials,” Patton wrote. “We are, however, endorsing his creativity, his initiative, his ability to dream big and see limitless possibilities, his commitment to Uni, and his desire to be of service to his school.”

She added, “While nothing may come of this project for Uni, I'm hopeful that it will be a valuable learning experience for Isaac in many ways.”

Chambers, however, would like to see something come of this project for Uni. Back in April, he told the Gargoyle that “this project isn't proof-of-concept; I actually want to get it done.”

The Gargoyle spoke with Chambers again to find out how he plans to do it.

As evident by the Web site he created for it, Chambers is intending to carry out the project in four phases: research, planning, financing, and construction.

Despite the fact that the next school year is months away, Chambers is already busy working on several things as part of the project's first stage.

Asked what he's thinking about for the project at this point, Chambers said he is “assessing Uni's current resources, getting a feel for what facilities are especially needed, whether new facilities should come in the form of entirely new facilities, renovations, additions, or a combination thereof, and looking at Uni's priorities as a whole.”

Chambers is processing the results from his survey to see what he should focus on.

“I think from this survey it's pretty clear that people want to keep Uni's location and main facility,” he said. “About 60 percent indicated they would oppose building entirely new facilities. On the other hand, 91 percent indicated they had no opinion or would support the building of new buildings in place of the Math House, Hue House, and Uni Gym.”

He added: “Although there are distinct benefits to having entirely new locations, such as larger facilities, room to expand if needed, soccer fields and an outdoor track, etc., I think the benefits of Uni's central location and the history and culture of the main Uni building outweigh the benefits of entirely new facilities. Although we are definitely keeping all options open at this point in the project, I think we're going to start with designs of new facilities on the same block to supplement the current main Uni building.”

In addition to the surveys, Chambers is planning to get other students involved in various ways for certain aspects of the project.

“I'm planning on getting student involvement for a fundraising campaign that will be distributed to potential donors, the University, etc.,” he said. “Also, on a very fundamental level, student involvement will be important in deciding what features would be in a new facility, what the new facility will look like, etc.”

Chambers himself will not be the one creating the blueprints. “The building would probably fall down,” he jokes. He says he is searching for an architect to help with preliminary plans and designs.

And while he's working on that, he says he's researching about other school buildings and about architecture in general. In the upcoming school year, he will also be looking for a “major donor.”

Regardless of the results of this project, it “will be a good learning experience,” Chambers said.

“I'm thinking about majoring in architecture or business in college. This project gives me a chance to build some experience and test the waters in both.”

RELATED

— Gargoyle coverage: Man for all seasons: Gargoyle Q&A with Isaac Chambers

— External link: Official site of the Building Development Project