A new space aimed at fostering design thinking is coming to campus in 2020. Current spaces on the ground floor of the Spoelhof University Center and the Gezon Lobby are being reimagined to create a learning-centered, purposeful, and coherent design hub that will inspire collaboration and encourage cross-disciplinary innovation.

“We want the design space to model what a professional design space looks like, with an emphasis on flexibility and collaboration,” says Craig Hanson, chair of the art and art history department.

The new design hub will include a space for engineering and business students to meet, a classroom for graphic design courses, studio space for fine arts students, a more visible costume shop, and room for student teams to collaborate on design projects.

The design hub will be named after Calvin emeriti Edgar and Ervina Boevé, professors of art and art history and theater, respectively. Both were instrumental in the Calvin and greater Grand Rapids arts scene.

“Ed built the art department, and Ervina was similarly larger than life for theater,” said Hanson. “It is difficult to overstate their impact upon students. They modeled an expansive way of living and looking— and ultimately loving. For them, all three were inextricably intertwined.”

Construction on the design hub, which is completely donor funded, begins in February, with a completion date set for August 2020.