UCalgary’s One-Stop Shop
Completed in the fall of 1965, and modelled after a similar building on the University of Alberta campus, the lower level of this mystery location has morphed from office space to a hub that accommodated the needs of international athletes who participated in the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. After the Games, the lower space was reorganized to better serve UCalgary students, providing different services, some of which are still offered today.
One of the most popular services housed in this building is essential to all members of the UCalgary campus community.
It is through this office that staff, students, faculty and alumni can gain access to active living services, obtain library privileges and have security access granted to certain campus spaces.
To speed up the process of obtaining these privileges, new community members can submit their information and identification photo online, and pick up their credentials at a later date. And, yes, selfies are allowed.
Just down the hall from the identification office, you can find those responsible for making campus feel like home for thousands of visitors every year. Serving scholars anywhere from age 17 to their mid-50s, this department manages living quarters and common spaces of all sizes and styles. Assuring students have clean, safe, well-maintained inclusive spaces to live in, this office also encourages its tenants to foster strong connections amongst each other by providing academic and social activities geared towards enhancing their post-secondary experience.
As the building’s physical space has evolved to accommodate conferences, town hall meetings, weddings and the needs of more students, so has its main kitchen’s food offerings. Alongside classic staples like pizza, hamburgers and french fries, food menus are constantly being updated every four weeks to please the palates of the diverse student body. Whether a patron is an international visitor, vegetarian, vegan, gluten-intolerant or someone who requires organic or halal options, patrons can request food options and express their service-related opinions through an online platform that is guaranteed to garner a response within 48 hours. With all these healthy options, the Freshman 15 may become a thing of the past.
Not only is the food provider cognizant of the needs of its patrons, they are also conscious of their environmental footprint. When possible, food is sourced from provincial farms and grown in an onsite urban cultivator that produces micro greens and herbs. To further reduce environmental impact, recycling bins are easily accessible, unused organic matter from the kitchen is composted and to-go food is served in compostable clamshells. There is also a possibility of community garden space being integrated into some of the building’s exterior green space in the next few years.
When you head off to obtain your Unicard with a wedge of locally farmed, gluten-free berry cheesecake in your hands, where, exactly, are you? U
How to Play
Identify the cryptic location where the photograph was taken and you could win a $70 gift certificate to the University of Calgary Bookstore. Visit: Visit: www.ucalgarymag.ca/wherearewe