The sparkling new Wilbur Wright Emporium, located in S-102 was opened for business at the beginning of the spring 2016 semester. What is an emporium? That is a question some students may not know the answer to. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an emporium is a place of trade or a commercial center.
Wilbur Wright’s emporium is a marketplace where thoughts and ideas can be freely exchanged. The new emporium has replaced the old math and writing tutoring spaces in the Wright college library. “The old tutoring space in L-400 was like a dark dungeon,” explained Mike Fang, an optimistic math tutor in the emporium. Lighting was a major concern when designing the new emporium according to Lane Fowlie, construction manager with the capital planning and construction division of the City Colleges of Chicago.
Wright College was the last of the City Colleges to receive an emporium. The first city college to get one was Olive Harvey, their emporium was such a success that it was used as a model for the other colleges. Planning and construction of the Wright emporium started in February 2015 and was completed in October 2015. “Wright’s emporium was completed in lightning speed,” said Fowlie.
Wright’s emporium is the most unique of all the City Colleges of Chicago. The space includes a “Genius bar”, which was the idea of President Potash and exclusive to Wright. The genius bar is a special study area which features elevated futuristic seating and stationary surface pro tablets. The Genius bar does not serve drinks, however, there is an eco-friendly water fountain right outside of the emporium... ...doors if you need a drink. The emporium relies on the school’s wireless internet network, this was done to ensure maximum flexibility according to Fowlie. The emporium was designed to be a welcoming space for all students. One of the goals of the emporium is for it to be a cool place where students want to hangout.
The Wright college emporium is a state of the art learning center. The emporium is stocked with the latest state of the art technology,“Walking into this new emporium is like traveling into the future,” said veteran student Octavio Huerta. The emporium is stocked with over 50 surface pro 3 tablets. Students are able to check out tablets to use while in the emporium, all they need is a current student ID and contact information. Tablets must be returned to the front desk staff by 7:30pm on weekdays. This is an aspect of the emporium that many students are excited about, “These tablets are a lot nicer to use than my old laptop,” said Huerta.
If you are going bananas about an upcoming physics test of if you have writer’s block and can not find any ideas, the Wright college emporium is the place to be. It is also a pretty nice place to just hang out and study. There are more than 20 active tutors on the emporium staff. The emporium is the sparkling gem of Wright College. And with a price tag of $900,000.00 it will be radiating for years to come.
The Wright emporium is unlike any other within the City Colleges. The emporium hours are from 9:00am- 8:00pm Monday through Thursday and from 10:00am-3:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays.