Facilities Services | The University of Tennessee Knoxville
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Michigan Central Summer Fall | Michigan Central Winter Spring
Open every day since 2007: offering locally sourced coffee, teas, baked goods, and a welcoming space for studying or events. Across Linden Street from First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Angell Elementary School and footsteps away from Chi Omega and seven other sororities and fraternity houses on the oddly-shaped lot bounded by South University. Washtenaw and Hill Streets.
A post shared by The Common Cup (@thecommoncupcoffee)
The University Lutheran Chapel in Ann Arbor, Michigan was designed by architect Glen Paulsen in 1959; a local Ann Arbor architect known for his modernist work and close ties to the University of Michigan community. The chapel is one of his most celebrated designs and is widely regarded as an outstanding example of mid-20th-century ecclesiastical architecture in the Midwest. The dramatic hyperbolic-paraboloid roof and the integration of natural light through colored glass strips are signature elements of the building.His work often emphasized clean lines, structural expression (e.g., exposed concrete and steel), and integration with natural surroundings, influenced by his time with Eero Saarinen and his teaching roles at the University of Michigan and Cranbrook Academy of Art. While the University Lutheran Chapel (1959) in Ann Arbor exemplifies his ecclesiastical modernism with its hyperbolic-paraboloid roof, below is a curated list of his other key projects, drawn from biographical records, architectural archives, and historical surveys. In the fullness of time his private practice from 1958 to 1969 morphed into TMP (Tarapata-MacMahon-Paulsen, 1969–1977).
“Attributes of the Architect” c. 1725 Jean-Baptiste Siméon
Princeton University Art Museum@PUArtMuseum
print(“Ædificare”)https://t.co/Ja2uGenSPr pic.twitter.com/Xs9fdzzdBY— Standards Michigan (@StandardsMich) January 4, 2022
The key standards distinguishing building renovations (alterations, repairs, or rehabilitation) from new building construction primarily come from the model code stacks of the International Code Council, the National Fire Protection Association, ASHRAE International, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers and the embedded product standards by ASTM International, Underwriters Laboratories and others we track routinely.
There are others, notably the FEMA “50 percent” rule informed by National Flood Insurance Program regulation applying to buildings in flood-prone areas. It governs renovation, repair, and improvement projects by defining “substantial improvement” or “substantial damage” as any work where costs equal or exceed 50% of the structure’s pre-improvement (or pre-damage) market value (excluding land value).
Sustainability objectives also shape the
scope of building renovation projects by expanding beyond basic repairs or cosmetic updates to encompass holistic, long-term performance improvements across environmental, economic, and social dimensions.
Today at the usual hour we will scan stabilized standards and track changes in process where possible. Use the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Neil Brown Jr. married his prom date—they’ve been together for 30 years, married for 25, and have two sons. True high school sweethearts, now in their mid-40s. Get them on a marriage podcast! They fully embraced the idea that marrying early is leveling up not “settling down.” pic.twitter.com/HAnagFEaHA
— Anthony Bradley (@drantbradley) April 21, 2025
Related:
How couples met (1930-2024)
[🎞️ EEAGLI]pic.twitter.com/zXASAs0ow6
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 4, 2026
Campus vibe is high intensity academically, softened by spring beauty
and a sense of approaching transition.
It’s one of the most distinctive weeks of the academic year
—where pressure, optimism, and nostalgia all overlap.
Late Night Breakfast is a tradition where students take a break from studying
for final examinations and served breakfast by the Faculty and Staff.
Southwestern has reopened one of its most historic campus buildings after a $25M renovation, blending modern classrooms and gathering spaces with its original character.
Read more: https://t.co/WnIzADL8mg
— Southwestern University (@SouthwesternU) September 4, 2025
Southwestern University Consolidated Financial Statements June 2023 | $643.4M
Behind the Artifact: The Melville Compass
International Building Code Section 302 Group A-2 occupancy includes assembly uses intended for food and/or drink consumption
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“The health of our civilization, the depth of our awareness about the underpinnings of our culture
and our concern for the future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries.”
—Carl Sagan
The founding of many educational institutions throughout the world was marked with the building of a place of worship (LEARN MORE: See College & University Chapels). After the church the library was the second building. It seems likely that after the library the “Media Center” will emerge as the replacement facility category (occupancy classification) in building codes and standards. It will be difficult letting go of the memories and the ambiance of these places and spaces. Who does not have a favorite place in a favorite library?
The original University of Michigan advocacy enterprise presented structural engineering technical committees of the American Society of Civil Engineers with proposals to roll back the live loading criteria for “occupancies formerly known as libraries” — because stacks of books and paper filing cabinets were being replaced with laptop computers. Not only that, stacks of actual physical books in legacy libraries were being relocated off-site to slab-on-grade book warehouses leaving the space to be renovated as study areas or administrative offices.
Those proposals for Table 1607 of the International Building were rejected for lack of technical substantiation. Fair enough. Structural engineering is a fearsome art and you do not want to push too hard on the instincts of structural design professionals even though their risk-aversion instinct is raising cost for new media centers that are mis-characterized as “libraries”. Most standards developing committees are permitted to set their own criteria for technical substantiation. After the desire and obligation to design for public safety it is naive to discount their concern for the cost of professional liability insurance, however. There are times when you are willing to pay for another power of ten safety factor.
The International Building Code Code is deep into its 2021 revision and it appears that some correlation action with ASCE structural engineering codes might have occurred. Rather than risk inaccuracy, we will archive the technical details to the post linked at the bottom of this page. It is often necessary to do this when codes and standards relevant to a given education facility develop out of step with one another.
We will continue following other library-related concepts are listed (very) briefly below:
Operating experience, use pattern anecdotes, war stories and such are always gratefully received any day during our colloquia however direct participation in the ICC Code Development Process should always be a first choice. CLICK HERE to get started.
This is the library of the school where I work (it’s also my summer writing office). If I were in charge (which I should be) every kid in the land would have access to a library like this. 📚📚📚❤️ pic.twitter.com/Tb3GIO0zSt
— Annelise Gray (@AnneliseGray) August 16, 2023
The image criteria of our WordPress theme does not permit many images of college and university libraries to be shown fully dimensioned on sliders or widget galleries. We reproduce a few of the outsized images here and leave the complexities of financing, designing, building and maintaining of them in a safe and sustainable manner for another day. If you need specific information please refer to the links at the bottom on this, very long, page.
Click on any image for image credit and other information
University of Southern California![]()
新加坡管理大学 | Singapore Management University![]()
More coming.
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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