CHAPEL HILL, NC ?EUR??,,????'??? Duke University administrators have chosen Hargreaves Associates, a landscape architecture firm in New York, to design the plaza for the new West Campus Student Center. The final approval of the project will be made by the board of trustees in December. Glenn Allen, a principal in the firm, will be working on the project. He recently visited the campus for a series of meetings with various interest groups to discuss design considerations. ?EUR??,,????'??I love doing campus designs because this is part of my life,?EUR??,,????'?? said Allen. ?EUR??,,????'??Working on a university project is interesting because of the transformation and immediate impact it can make in students?EUR??,,????'??? lives. We?EUR??,,????'???ll talk to the whole spectrum of students to find out what they want.?EUR??,,????'?? The West Campus Student Center will connect the Student Union and Student Services Building. Hargreaves Associates will weigh out the expectations of the Duke staff and faculty to have a balanced approach to the design. Timelines are beginning to be formed, said Allen. The goal is to have construction begin in June, 2003 and break the design down into a series of projects. Design plans will come out this summer. From the start of the project until completion should take 12 to 18 months. ?EUR??,,????'??The cost could vary due to the complexity of the project and could cost several million dollars,?EUR??,,????'?? said Allen. ?EUR??,,????'??The essence of the student center needs to be uniquely Duke, conceptually. It?EUR??,,????'???s going to be a special project, intensely student-focused.?EUR??,,????'?? Allen said he likes to come to projects without preconceptions and let the specific nature of the client tell the firm what the place is going to become. He already sees a lot of potential in creating a new university icon with the plaza. Duke?EUR??,,????'???s preliminary plans for the student center construction and renovations call for a two-level plaza, which will recognize rather than hide the eight-foot difference between the level of the main quad and the Bryan center entrance. ?EUR??,,????'??We could possibly take advantage of that change to include a water feature of some sort,?EUR??,,????'?? said Allen. ?EUR??,,????'??We haven?EUR??,,????'???t quite thought through it for Duke?EUR??,,????'???s plaza yet, but we created a very successful one at the University of Cincinnati. It would be an element that gives a very special character to the place with water.?EUR??,,????'??