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Media Advisory/Photo Opp: New, colorful Adirondack chairs will create cozy spaces for UB students
Dennis Black, vice president for university life and services, and UB staff and students enjoy some time in the sun painting Adirondack chairs that will be placed throughout the North and South campuses. Pictured, from left, are Brian Ravinsky, Linsey Graff, Minahil Khan, Andreina Rosario, Black, Bobby Fera and Sean Kaczmarek. Credit: Douglas Levere
Release Date: August 4, 2015 This content is archived.
BUFFALO, N.Y. — They’ve proven to be a hit on Buffalo’s burgeoning waterfront, providing a spot for visitors at Canalside to sit and watch the world go by.
Those iconic, colorful Adirondack chairs are now part of the University at Buffalo landscape as a result of a plan to enhance the student experience by creating small, comfortable spaces throughout UB’s campuses.
Who: A team of UB students will put the final touches on the project by painting the last of 140 Adirondack chairs that have been “adopted” and painted by volunteers in units across UB's campuses, including Student Life, the Capital Planning Group, the Health Sciences Library, Environmental Health and Safety, Human Resources and University Life and Services.
What: 10 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 5.
When: The students will gather to paint the chairs at picturesque Lake LaSalle on UB’s North Campus.
Where: The chairs are being painted in UB-oriented colors and feature the interlocking UB logo. They are being placed around UB North and South campuses in August for everyone to enjoy.
Why: “Using Canalside as a benchmark, we wanted to find a low-cost way to impact some of our vast green spaces on both the North and South campuses,” says Linsey Graff, architectural planner with the UB Capital Planning Group. “These chairs are meant to be flexible and moved to fit the needs of students at any specific time — as a single lounge chair for enjoying the sun, arranged in a circle for a group meeting or outdoor class,” or any other uses students might have.
The “Adirondack Chairs” project is one of several being implemented as a result of a recommendation from the Student Experience Task Force — one of several task forces to emerge from Realizing UB 2020 — to improve the UB experience for students by developing small, comfortable spaces throughout the campuses.
UB allocated $250,000 over three years for the “Small Facility and Grounds Spaces” initiative, says Kelly Hayes McAlonie, director of the UB Capital Planning Group. Her team is designing and implementing the initiative, which is being coordinated by Vice President for University Life and Services Dennis R. Black.
“We can make our large campus seem more welcoming one small place at a time,” Black said. Besides Adirondack Chairs, four other projects are underway.
On-site contact: Linsey Graff at 716-622-3193
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