It’s been about two years, but construction representative Tim Allenbaugh can finally say these words: University and Villard halls are again open for business.
The University of Oregon’s two oldest buildings are in the final stages of a $96 million modernization project that required their temporary closure in summer of 2023. With work almost complete, both buildings reopened to students, staff and faculty with the start of school in September.
“They’re amazing buildings,” said Allenbaugh, owner representative for the University Hall project and a member of the Office of Design and Construction. “We’re bringing them up to modern standards on the inside but really keeping the historic character on the outside.”
The brick-and-timber buildings first opened their doors in the late 1800s. Both are on the National Register of Historic Places as National Historic Landmarks, thanks to their Second Empire-style facades.
Those exteriors have been preserved and reinforced, but almost everything within both buildings has been brought up to today’s standards, including:
- Modern classroom technology.
- Interior concrete walls for stability during an earthquake.
- New HVAC, plumbing, electrical and network systems.
- Elevators and accessibility improvements.
- Student hearths, lounges and gathering spaces.
- Modern faculty offices and faculty commons.
- Better entrances and a new exterior courtyard.
The renovation included consolidation of all units of Cinema Studies from sites across the Eugene campus to a single location in Villard. Backstage spaces were also refreshed for the Robinson Theatre, which was built onto Villard Hall in 1949.
Villard also received a newly configured Pocket Playhouse, a student-run theater, updating the one that was constructed with the Robinson Theatre. Other spaces that were updated include dressing rooms and restrooms; set, costume and furniture storage; and theater and cinema study class labs.
—Matt Cooper, University Communications