The Hillside House creates space
Over the summer, the former Phi Kappa Tau house, now called the Hillside House, was repurposed to house Entrepreneurship/Innovation, Dance, and Art.
Since the beginning of the semester, the House has changed from an unoccupied space to an up-and-coming academic area open to all students. According to an email sent to PKT alumni on Sept. 11, the house has been leased to the school for the next two years, until “the chapter’s return to full operation.”
David C. Rabold, Capital Projects Manager of Plant Operations, headed the renovation. “Administration staff persons, John Williams, Kent Dyer, John Ramsay and myself were looking for space to meet the needs of many departments;” says Rabold, “an area for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, office space for faculty and studios for senior art students. We were just fortunate Hillside House was available and with a reasonable amount of work, upgrading wireless, painting and cleaning it was turned into what we hope will be a very effective space for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship program, theater rehearsal space, art studios, art critique space, and offices for faculty in a number of departments.”
“Quite remarkable work which was done by the Operations Department. They worked very hard to make it possible,” says Professor Jean Simonnet, Entrepreneur in Residence.
Professor Rita Chesterton, Director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, sought out the ideal space for the department.
“We are very excited about our new campus space for the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Program. The space arose from a need to have a location on campus where students could work on their entrepreneurial pursuits as well as simply have an interdisciplinary space that worked to promote innovative ideas...I teach my INE 101 and INE 201 courses at Hillside House which is a great location for collaborative coursework... So far students have been very excited about the Center. The space is open to all students during regular building hours to study or work on group projects,” says Chesterton.
Faculty offices, conference rooms, dance spaces, art studios, computer rooms, and classroom spaces are distributed throughout the building. Of particular interest to Entrepreneurship/Innovation majors, are the 3-D printer and free
wheeling whiteboards.
“The idea is to not erase the whiteboards so that group work and innovation continues and ideas can stay on the board for as long as they want,” says Simonnet, “you have to have this type of space because it not only gives a home but by having them in the same space physically there is a cross fertilization between groups, which is very important, stimulates conversation.”
In addition to academia, the House’s main level offers a fun environment for hanging out with friends and fostering creativity. All students can come by to play foosball, ping-pong, or board games.
“We wanted a home for their learning, to converse and develop ideas... A place where they can meet, relax, and have fun,” says Simonnet.
When word went around amongst faculty that the Entrepreneurship/Innovation Department sought out a space, the Dance and Art Departments also said that they needed more space.
“We’re excited to share the building with Art, Theater, and Dance. We see the space as working as an idea incubator for students,” says Chesterton.
The Hillside House has been very beneficial situating the Entrepreneurship/Innovation Department and expanding the Dance and Art Departments, but its main challenge is the lack of visibility it has on campus.
“We will be hosting Entrepreneurship events throughout the course of the semester to try to bring more attention to the location,” says Professor Chesterton.
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Simonnet explained that, this Spring, the Entrepreneurship/Innovation Major is hosting their “Innovation Challenge” at The Hillside House. “The Innovation Challenge” is when different students plan to compete with an idea and present it in front of an audience of students and faculty and the students who share their ideas can win prizes. This event has been previously held in Seegers, but holding the event at The Hillside House is the more efficient means of increasing visibility.
“The success of this place will be when students from all disciplines come together to see the progress and the ideas that people are collaborating on,” says Professor Simonnet.
The Hillside House has yet to become the central hub of activity, group work, and prototype production that Simonnet envisions, but it is on its way as illustrated by the Entrepreneurship/Innovation students’ class work that covers the whiteboards from frame to frame.
Photos courtesy of Haris Bhatti