SPRING 2025 | 37 both fit with the pub space, the design they have going on in there, and something that’s unique to the space?” Hackenmueller says. “The tables were meant to be focal points within each room that they were in.” The students wanted the private dining table, which incorporates the old structural support beams, to have a classic design since it would be used by visitors reserving the space for meetings. Students also wanted the table to reflect the heritage of the Clayton UC. The private dining table has four thick legs made from a purlin beam and a butcher block-style table top engraved with elements of Lehigh’s rising sun insignia. The table also pays homage to Bethlehem Steel with bronze powder-coated steel included in the legs. The table top is made from pieces of rafters that were once in the Clayton UC, Oatman says. Students removed nails from the wood and filled the holes with resin. “It will allow you to see the history right on top of the table as you’re sitting at it,” Oatman says. For the banquette table, students wanted to make something Lehigh-centric. They landed on a design that uses Lehigh’s shield at the front and the school’s initials, “LU,” on both sides as supports for the table top. The banquette table is made entirely of lumber harvested from trees on the Clayton UC site. “So often, especially as a design student, you conceptualize things, but you don’t always get to see them into the final stage,” Hackenmueller says. “The idea of having these tables in a public space in the school that people can interact with and see, and it’s going to be there for however long the pub is around, is really cool.” Litchfield’s favorite aspect of the Clayton UC project was using beams that came right from the building. “I think it’s unique that we are not just hiring some design team to do it,” he says. “It’s student-driven and it’s very personalized toward the school, which I like.” L SCAN TO WATCH A VIDEO ABOUT THE STUDENT- DESIGNED TABLES Left: Students Annie Oatman ’25 and Sonja Hackenmueller ’26 pose in front of the banquette table they helped make inside the new Lehigh University Pub. Above: Workers help move the table into the pub. Slocum and his team have plenty of experience with furniture design, but restoring the bell was a new type of project. The base of the bronze bell is 2-and-a-half feet wide and weighs between 250 to 300 lbs, Slocum says. The bell was in rough shape and caked in bird and bat droppings when Slocum first saw it. It has since been polished and its iron supports were powder coated. The original support beams were sealed and reconfigured to create a base for the bell to sit on. Slocum says the bell is a tangible symbol of Lehigh’s history. “Seeing the date, 1866, cast into the side of the bell and knowing that it was part of the very start of this place of higher learning, part of Asa Packer’s vision to build a legacy of education, it’s a really powerful symbol that can tie us all back to that original mission,” Slocum says. “While it won’t ring again, I do hope the students will come, touch it and connect with the history of Lehigh, and maybe, just maybe, hear echoes of the past.” Original Bell Refurbished
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