Corey Union Ground Floor Renovation

At SUNY Cortland’s Corey Union, an underutilized former rathskeller, a surge classroom, and disconnected dining venues were reborn into a light, vibrant community hub. A campus “living room”, study nooks, performance spaces and dining venues round out a program catering to the demands of today’s students. Restrooms were re-conceived as a cluster of individual facilities, offering greater privacy and dignified accommodation for non-binary and trans-gendered students while also offering a very high degree of accessibility.

The Campus Living Room, seen from the exterior, activates the interior drawing students into the space. The two-story “Heart” space connects the activity space to the rest of the union and encourages students to utilize all floors. Lounges, study nooks, and specific locations for stand-up and music performances re-activate this once dark and divided space. With the walls opened up, light pours in from formerly obstructed north and south glass. The corridor now bleeds into the spaces encouraging interaction.

Off one of the main corridors a comfortable coffee shop, branded by SWBR, offers convenient drinks, sandwiches and grab and go-demands of today’s students. With the integration of mobile ordering, Cortland offers the ease of ordering for students but also the ability to easily customize their orders. This made to order convenience is integrated into two new food dining concepts that cater to modern demands. Greens & Grains and Pomodori advance the auxiliary services corporation’s mission of excellence in dining offering healthy choices and comfort food from the convenience of mobile, kiosk, or cash orders.