Friday, October 24, 1997
The world on De Neve
Bradley Center, with cafe and study areas, opens soon
By Carol McKay
Daily Bruin Staff
To students, it is noisy and orange. Bright orange. But to
officials, it’s a highly anticipated affair.
The Tom Bradley International Center, located near Dykstra Hall
in the northwestern part of campus, is scheduled to house a number
of organizations, programs and opportunities for both international
and local students and faculty. And to the people who have been
involved in the project, it is very exciting.
"It’s unlike any other building on this campus," said Patricia
Webber, director of development for the center. "Students may be
concerned with the brightness of the colors. I know now that it
just looks like this big, orange, ugly thing on the side of that
hill. But when the trees are planted and the building gets a little
weathered …" She trailed off with a gleam in her eyes.
The building, designed by the internationally acclaimed
architect Ricardo Legoretta, is a colorful sort of modern-day
pueblo. With a stucco-like texture, earthy colors, and a line of
flagpoles bearing flags from around the globe, the building, when
completed, will have a very international feel.
When Bradley opens – the first segment will be available to the
public next week – it will be home to several organizations,
including the Office of International Students and Scholars, the
Dashew Center, and UCLA Catering. The building also boasts a
three-story Hall of Nations, a ballroom and an international
cafe.
A practice dance studio, study rooms and a telecommunications
room also occupy some of the 28,000-square-foot building which,
according to Webber, aims to produce a comfortable, welcoming area
for international students who face challenges very different from
those of native students.
"Sometimes the only thing international students know about Los
Angeles is what they see on television or in the movies. That can
be scary," Webber said. Many of the programs planned to stem from
the Bradley Center will attempt to ease the transition from a
foreign country to the United States.
But Webber stressed that Bradley is not exclusive to
international students. To communicate this, the new building –
which will replace the International Student Center, built in 1963
on Hilgard Avenue – differs from its predecessor because the word
"student" was dropped from the title.
According to Webber, one of the center’s main goals is to
provide a welcoming atmosphere for both international students and
students from the United States, encouraging interaction between
the two.
To accomplish this, the construction of the Bradley Center has
become a joint venture between the Office of Residential Life and
UCLA’s international programs, said ORL Director Alan Hanson.
"Our hope here is to enrich and take to a new level the
educational perspective of everyone on the residential hill,"
Hanson said. "Having Bradley as a close neighbor will do two
things. It will cause students typically from other nations to be
closer to campus than historically they had been. Being at the
heart of the residential center, or at least in the neighborhood,
will give them better sense of belonging.
"Concurrently, students who reside in the northwest will both
symbolically and practically be more conscious of the international
perspective."
Students living in the residence halls will be affected by
Bradley’s presence immediately when the international cafe, part of
the lower level of Bradley, opens at the end of February.
The cafe, which will specialize in cuisines from around the
world but is to seat less than 100 people, will be available to
students as part of the meal plan.
According to Webber, chefs have been planning menus for the cafe
for a year, and the cafe could possibly have Starbucks coffee.
"It’s really going to be a darn good place to go and have
something good to eat," Hanson said.
Bradley will also temporarily house Dykstra Hall’s computer lab,
which has been temporarily removed for the renovation of that
building.
Construction of Bradley has provided challenges unique to the
nature of the land upon which the structure is being built.
According to Dean Purton, the project manager, construction has
been interesting to say the least.
"It’s been a difficult site in that it’s posed challenges in
terms of construction access and erosion control," Purton said,
referring to the structure’s location on a hill. With the approach
of this winter’s anticipated El Nino storm, Purton said that
weather has been a constant concern throughout the project.
"Sometimes the weather has won. But usually we did," Purton
said. "But you have to consider the possibility of rain anytime in
terms of protecting the site."
The Bradley Center, which is named after Tom Bradley, the mayor
of Los Angeles for two decades, attempts to follow the example of
its namesake in terms of progressive, multicultural leadership.
According to Webber, there were several key reasons for naming the
building after the former mayor.
"We wanted to give life to his legacy of helping to make Los
Angeles an international city during the years he was mayor," she
said. "Also, he greatly empowered women and minorities in
government. We want to carry this legacy on, and having things on
display will help illustrate that legacy."
Hundreds of pieces of art, photographs, maps and sculptures will
be exhibited as Tom Bradley memorabilia near a fireplace in a
central lounge area, Webber said. Students will be encouraged to
use that area to study and socialize, she added.