Student project bridges WSU campus with downtown Pullman

Students working together on a design concept in their lab.
School of Design and Construction students collaborate on concepts for underutilized areas between WSU and downtown Pullman.

A group of WSU School of Design and Construction faculty and students are dreaming big as they help to build a gateway between WSU and downtown Pullman.

As part of their interdisciplinary studio class, the students are working with community stakeholders and WSU personnel to produce design concepts for the underutilized area between the old steam plant on WSU’s campus, the Brelsford WSU Visitor Center, and Pullman’s Main Street. The project aims to provide a rewarding learning experience for the students through community engagement and service while strengthening relationships between WSU, Pullman, and other stakeholders and envisioning innovative solutions to the geographic district. The project area runs from the WSU campus to Main and Grand Streets and from just north of the Pullman Depot Heritage Center to the city playfields along the Palouse River.

The students have worked with several community groups on the project, including the Port of Whitman and the Pullman Chamber of Commerce. Earlier this fall, they held an open house and brainstorming session in which community members shared their ideas on ways to link the campus to downtown Pullman.

“The Gateway Project is a great example of how we can leverage our educational mission to develop and grow ties between WSU and the City of Pullman,” said WSU Provost Elizabeth Chilton. “This unique project offers a professional development opportunity for students while providing visioning about the space that sits at the physical interface between WSU and Pullman.”

This semester’s class is taught by professors Bob Krikac, Kate Kraszewski, and Matt Melcher.