More Love for the New PUB

Professional architects agree, Eastern’s PUB is the place to be.

Eastern’s Pence Union Building, recent recipient of a $47 million remodel, has become everything renovation advocates had hoped for: an inviting center for student activities, a welcoming gathering place for the campus community, and a symbol of Eastern’s commitment to a new era of higher education. Now add another plaudit: architectural icon.

In October, the new PUB received a citation from the Washington Council of the American Institute of Architects recognizing it as exemplifying “design excellence in publicly funded projects located in Washington state.” Only eleven other projects were so honored.

The awards, according to the citation, highlighted projects with the highest standards in sustainability, innovation, building performance and overall integration with the client and surrounding communities. In the PUB’s case, judges were particularly entranced with the its gleaming front elevation and its soaring interior staircase that, they said, “integrated the life of the whole building.”