Photo by Richard Howard

In one of the bright, new, high-ceilinged studio classrooms in Pendleton West, students maneuver 16-foot-long lengths of bamboo into inverted V positions, securing them with clamps that they tighten with power drills. Their materials are locally sourced: When art lecturer Andrew Mowbray noticed that some of the bamboo by the Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center had died in last year’s harsh weather, he asked the grounds department if he could use it. Grounds staff were happy to harvest the bamboo for him, and his students were provided with plenty of raw material for a group project.

Mowbray’s class is one of the first to be taught in the renovated building, which opened in January after a year and a half of construction. “My favorite parts of the building so far are all the little spaces made to just hang out in,” says Melina Mardueño ’18, an art history major and studio art minor who is taking Mowbray’s class. “Before, I felt that studio students didn’t really have a space to just relax and meet in while working on projects, but that’s definitely different now. I also love the open classrooms. I don’t feel confined, and there’s a sense of belonging and unification throughout the building.”