10.01.14

Kansas State University Visits UW Ethnic Cultural Center | Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center

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The Samuel E. Kelly Ethnic Cultural Center (ECC) at the University of Washington drew administrators, faculty, and architects from Kansas State University. The ECC was selected by KSU’s team as a facility exemplifying what they envision for their proposed multicultural student center in both design and function.

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Alex Rolluda, principal in charge of planning and design for the UW’s ECC, joined Dr. Marisa Herrera, ECC’s Director, and her staff in sharing the ECC story and how it came to be: the conversations, the thoughts, and the dreams that made this facility a model for other such facilities throughout the country.

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Alex shared the ECC’s planning and design process to the KSU team—from the initial programming, working jointly with the ECC and its diverse student groups in bringing the history and culture of the original center to the new project, to transforming the building from concept to reality. The KSU team was inspired by ECC’s story and how its design creates open, welcoming spaces where students of all ethnicities can see and be seen, interrelate, and collaborate, and where staff can mentor, teach, and integrate with students to become future leaders.