Kinross Recreation Center scheduled to open in fall as hub for grad students
By Daily Bruin Staff
Sept. 16, 2011 3:52 p.m.
Graduate students at UCLA will soon have a common meeting place to call their own, with the completion of the Kinross Recreation Center this fall.
“K-REC,” as the center has been nicknamed, will be a fitness, health and lounge club.
Originally part of the design for the first phase of construction on Weyburn Terrace more than 10 years ago, plans for a graduate student fitness room or community center were abandoned because of economic problems of the time, said Mick Deluca, executive director of recreation and campus life at UCLA.
About three years ago, the idea resurfaced for a graduate student community center ““ a place that could build interaction between graduate students and address their objectives of having meeting places for issues they find important, Deluca said.
Construction on the project began after the developers secured funding, support from the UCLA administration, and a viable location in the Kinross building, which campus police had vacated.
Deluca said there is no perfect term to label the center yet.
“It’ll kind of be born of use. It has amenities that may feel like a health club, but there is also potential for social gatherings and meeting spaces.”
Visitors passing through the main entrance will be greeted with a big-screen television and a lounge area where people can interact, said Michael Weismeyer, president of the Graduate Students Association. Weismeyer has been involved in the planning for the center since the idea’s beginning.
The center will have an outdoor area, which can be used for larger groups and special events, as well as miniature study rooms, Deluca said. An Associated Students UCLA store will also be included in the building.
Showers and locker amenities can serve not only the active frequenters of the center, but also commuters who park in Lot 36 or get dropped off at the bus stop located near K-REC.
In addition to a fitness room with free weights and cardio machines, the center will house a room with hardwood floor and high ceilings that can be used as a dance studio.
Planners hope the building will act as a hub for graduate student life.
“I hope it can be seen as a common place for all graduate students,” said Jack Gibbons, director of residential education. “Realistically I think (graduate) students will continue to meet in other places … but I hope it is a place used by (graduate) students across disciplines.”
Weismeyer said there are not many places on campus where graduate students can meet people from across departments and interact.
“I think for the 1,900 single (graduate) students living close to the Kinross building, it meets that critical mass of graduate students who have that need for recreation,” said Kathy FitzGerald, director of project development for capital programs at UCLA.
The center will not be open to undergraduates, Deluca said.
“(As TAs), you don’t want to run into your students at the gym,” Weismeyer said. “Especially because graduate students play different roles, and when you’re in one of those different roles you have to play, it’s nice to have a space away from everyone.”
Gibbons said he sees a variety of opportunities for the center. More than just a place for graduate students to interact among themselves, K-REC could also be host to interactions and events by campus groups, and those discussions are already underway, Gibbons said.
Graduate students were involved in every step of the project and were allowed to give their input as to what the center would end up looking like, FitzGerald said. They were some of the biggest proponents for the environmental friendliness of the building, which will be LEED Silver certified, Deluca said.
