Smokers, romantics and tour guides beware: The Tisch Library roof, a hotspot for social gatherings and those simply on the prowl for a glimpse of the Boston skyline, is set to go under the knife this summer.
Last week, the Daily reported that public artist Jackie Friedman and landscape artist M. Paul Friedberg had created a concept model - which may be subject to change before the project takes place - to transform the roof into three outdoor "rooms."
These nontraditional clearings will each seat between 25 and 200 people, and will feature such elements as a red and black abstract design, a sundial and groupings of birch trees. The project will also represent Tufts' first public art commission.
As many Jumbos see the library roof as a social hub and late-night hangout, reactions to the plan were mixed. Some were concerned that the renovations would stifle social interaction there, while others approved of the idea.
Junior Arya Meydani was concerned about the roof's openness, which he said is crucial to its role as a place for socialization.
"I think it's a cool idea to make [the roof] more aesthetically pleasing," he said. "But if it's not going to be as open, that's one thing I wouldn't like about [the project]."
Meydani is also worried that when the Tisch roof is made into a publicly viewable piece of art, students will have less of an opportunity to gather there.
Junior Lisa Chow noted the potential for the roof to be used as a meeting space in the future.
"I think people will definitely use the roof more [after the renovations,]" she said. "Now, it's hard to have meetings there."
Students also felt that having a public work of art on the library roof would improve the atmosphere of Tufts as a whole. Junior Sarah Miller, an employee of the Tufts University art gallery, said that the roof had been a topic of discussion amongst the employees and visitors of the gallery.
"It sounds pretty cool," she said. "It would be nice to make the roof a little less barren."
Other students agreed with the notion of renovating the roof and even wished the currently inaccessible parts of the roof would be transformed as well.
"I misunderstood them when they were talking about the library roof renovations, and I thought they were going to do the whole roof, including the part that's not used," sophomore John Sotherland said. "So I was kind of disappointed ... it looks like it's going to be pretty, but it doesn't look like it's going to be all that different."
Junior Odin Hillery also hoped the renovations would make the roof more accessible.
"I think the issue is access," he said. "There's just one stairway."
Also an issue is whether or not the roof renovations constitute a reasonable allocation of Tufts' funding. Senior Kasey Collins suggested that there are other things on campus that are equally deserving of improvements.
"Have them redo the bells in Goddard [would be a better use of funds]," she said.
Meydani agreed, suggesting that Tufts replace only the grass on the roof instead of installing a public work of art.
"I think Tufts could put money in other places," he said. "Given that there are a lot of areas that need to be touched up already, I would think that it'd be better for them to coordinate with the senate to try and find another way to use funding."
