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Buildings

Summer 2022

Permanence

The ancient Roman architect Vitruvius conceived of three primary virtues for structures: beauty, utility, and firmitas, a term that can be translated as permanence. Naturally, buildings can’t be crafted to last through time immemorial. What is permanence if even stone monuments wear away into sand?

Moreover, as Washington State University architecture professor Ayad Rahmani asks in this issue’s essay, maybe the longevity of structures should be questioned. Rahmani writes about Frank Lloyd Wright’s organic view of buildings and their inevitable decay, and that we should perhaps consider their “measured return to the earth.”

We don’t really expect our buildings to last forever, but we rely … » More …

Summer 2021

Stevens Hall life—Memories from former residents

In the early 1980s, former residents were mailed questionnaires about life at Stevens Hall. The Stevens Hall Historical Questionnaires now reside at the Washington State University Libraries Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC).

The collection consists of two boxes containing nearly 100 folders with forms filled out and mailed back between 1982 and 1985. Here are some quotes from the project as well as from Facebook. Earlier this year, Washington State Magazine put the call out for Stevens Hall memories on social media, and many alumni responding by posting short reminisces. Some are included here, too.

From MASC

Mary (Bartlett) Hunt (1910 … » More …

Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center
Summer 2021

Gallery: Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center

The Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center at Washington State University provides inclusive, creative and educational programming to empower and transform individuals and communities.

The beautiful building pays homage to the Palouse hills and to the traditional Nez Perce and Palus lands that WSU Pullman sits on.

On the web

Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center

More features of the Elson S. Floyd Cultural Center

What’s new? (WSM Fall 2016)

At our table (WSM Winter 2017)

Of place and history (WSM Summer 2021)

Summer 2021

Memories of Stevens Hall

Its architecture is eclectic, a mix of New England Shingle, ornamental Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival styles with Pacific Northwest touches. Local basalt, clay from campus, and Puget Sound fir and red cedar were all used in its construction in 1895.

In those early years, Stevens Hall was not only an all-women’s residence hall but a social center for the students of Washington State. This is where they would come together—for dances and dinners, teas, readings, and receptions.

Today, Stevens Hall, placed on the National Register of Historic Places and steeped in tradition, remains women-only, and its residents tend to form close bonds, often … » More …

Outside view of Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art/WSU
Spring 2018

Gallery: Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art/WSU

The new Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art/WSU, located directly south of the CUB on Terrell Mall, is a stunning addition to the Pullman campus with its unique mirrored glass exterior.

The six galleries of the Crimson Cube will feature visiting exhibitions, featured artists, and works from the museum’s permanent collection. Read about the grand opening of the museum.

(All photos by Robert Hubner except JSMOA entrance by Zach Mazur)