36 | LEHIGH ALUMNI BULLETIN Wooden beams that for 157 years provided structural support within the stone walls of the Clayton University Center at Packer Hall have become part of a centerpiece project in The Lehigh University Pub at the newly renovated building. The renovation began in 2023, during which some of the original support beams were removed from the building and trees were cut down on the Clayton UC property to make way for construction. A group of four design students were recruited to build two tables for the pub using the original beams and lumber from the trees. “As students, they will now be attached to the institution in a different way, because they are leaving something they made behind. … It is both a privilege, and at the same time a legacy, to work on these types of projects,” says Brian Slocum, director of Lehigh’s Design Labs. In addition to the tables, Slocum and his team have been tasked with restoring the bell from the Clayton UC’s iconic bell tower. Cast in 1866 at the Meneely Bell Foundry in West Troy, N.Y., the bell will be located at the South Entrance near the new Club Hub in front of a portrait of Lehigh founder Asa Packer, which is carved into acrylic and edge lit by LED lights. The portrait was designed by Benjamin Bolan ’26. The Clayton UC was the first structure Packer commissioned to be built for Lehigh in 1868, and it was previously expanded and renovated in 1956. The newly renovated Clayton UC opened ahead of schedule in January, with students, faculty and staff moving in before the spring semester’s start. A building dedication is planned for the fall. The renovation presented a one-time opportunity to use pine timbers that framed the oldest, most recognized building on campus. Slocum was contacted in December 2023 by Jim LaRose, project manager of the Clayton UC renovation, about incorporating the wood into tables for the pub. “This project will transcend time,” Slocum says. “The materials we are using already transcend time. Everything we are working on has a history.” The wood could be up to 500 years old since the trees used to make the beams were old-growth timber and would have been felled before the Clayton UC was constructed in 1868, Slocum says. The beams were also riddled with hand-cut nails, which Slocum estimates students spent at least four hours removing. “The students felt ownership, nostalgia and reverence for this material because it was part of the building,” he says. Students who worked on the tables include Sonja Hackenmueller ’26, Nate Ivill-Weiner ’25 and Annie Oatman ’25, who were recruited from a product design class taught by Wes Heiss, professor of art, architecture and design. Grant Litchfield ’25, who has a background in woodworking and worked in the Design Labs since his freshman year, also took part. The first table is 6-and-a-half feet long, 5 feet wide and can seat 10. It is being used in a private dining space inside The Lehigh University Pub. The second is a banquette table in the public dining room that is 10 feet long, 6 feet wide and seats eight. The students came up with designs that were a nod to the building’s architectural style, which is considered one of the first examples of Ruskinian architecture in the United States. The Clayton UC is known for its elaborate decorative schemes, which include millwork and custom stained-glass windows, interior wood paneling and stone walls. “How can we use those materials in ways that will Left: Student Annie Oatman ’25 works on one of the pub tables in the Lehigh Design Labs at Mountaintop. Above: Pictured from left are Design Labs Manager Mike Moore, Assistant Manager Leila Ehtesham, Oatman and Brian Slocum, director of the Design Labs.
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