Renovation uncovers original features of Michigan Union – MLive.com

ANN ARBOR, MI If Allen and Irving Pond could see what has become of their beloved Michigan Union 100 years after its completion, Susan Pile believes they would beam with pride.

The designers of student unions at UM, Michigan State, Kansas and Purdue, as well as several other buildings at UM, the brothers connection to the university is deeply embedded in Ann Arbor lore. They provided the land for the Union from the site of their boyhood home, and Irving Pond scored the first touchdown in Michigan football history in 1879.

This is one of the oldest college unions in the country, at your alma mater, where your boyhood home sat, said Pile, director of the Michigan Union. You can imagine what (the Pond brothers) invested in this project is so symbolic and of course the Union has now become the campus gem that it is, I think because they invested so much of themselves into this project.

When the Michigan Union reopens to the public Jan. 13 after a 20-month, $85.2 million renovation, it will include a number of historic features and a floor plan that were preserved and uncovered in the spirit of the original blueprints of the brothers, who both studied architecture at UM.

The influence of the brothers Arts and Crafts-style of architecture is still apparent throughout the newly remodeled Union, both through the uncovering and reuse of its historic and original materials.

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Tables for student study space inside the Michigan Union are made of wood from the building's original bowling alley.

Light fixtures, doors and windows from the original design were reused in the renovation, while original slate and terrazzo floors and limestone doorways brought back to light after being covered up for decades. Even the wood from the Unions old bowling alley lanes have been re-purposed as tables in student study spaces.

The original 1919 floor plan was used to expand and improve gathering spaces on the first floor. Beyond the design influence of Pond and Pond, Pile said reconfiguring the layout can help the Michigan Union fulfill its original purpose of bringing students together.

Youve got office space situated in a much more efficient layout, so that more square footage could be returned to students and campus community usage through much more social, open gathering kind of spaces and new meeting rooms, Pile said.

Other aspects of the renovation drew inspiration from Pond and Ponds original design, including the Unions new focal point the first-floor indoor courtyard.

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Arches in the newly-constructed indoor courtyard of the Michigan Union were inspired by designs from the building's original architects, Allen and Irving Pond.

Previously an outdoor courtyard space that didnt attract many students during the fall and winter, the courtyard features a floor with 38,000 pieces of end grain.

Curved arches were created to align with the buildings historical design while supporting a glass roof that brings in natural light, Pile said.

The design was intended to recreate the open-air terrace space of the former courtyard in an indoor setting, Pile said, with the railing overlooking the courtyard an exact replica of the original included in the buildings blueprints.

This was a way for us to really capture space that would be meaningful to the building and would add this sense of vibrancy and connection and create a really nice connection between the first and second levels of the building, Pile said.

Other spaces on the buildings first floor have returned to their original intent, Pile said.

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A new portico and indoor ramp have been added to the Michigan Union's north entrance as part of the building's $85.2 million renovation.

The buildings north entrance, which was constructed as part of an addition in the 1950s, has been renovated to appear more welcoming, with a portico and enclosed ramp allowing more natural light into the building in a design that borrowed from Pond and Ponds architecture.

"It actually feels like youre coming into the Michigan Union in a way that you just never felt before, Pile said.

Perhaps the most visible historic elements of the renovation the buildings 540 original windows - have been completely restored. UM worked with Colon, Michigan-based Full Spectrum Stained Glass to restore the century-old windows, while new storm windows were installed by Michigan-based Peterson Glass Co. to help the buildings energy efficiency.

Aluminum-framed Thermolite windows are expected to improve energy efficiency, provide noise reduction and add a security barrier.

Its a good story that weve been able to balance the historic, beautiful nature of these windows, which are so symbolic to this building and have really advanced the energy efficiency at the same time, Pile said.

A look inside the newly-renovated Michigan Union

A historic look at the Michigan Union before it reopens Jan. 13

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Renovation uncovers original features of Michigan Union - MLive.com