If you’ve walked through the Link recently and seen the fresh lick of paint and carpeted floors, you may have wondered what's going on. The artist silently plodding away and the stacked chairs in the corner are all tell-tale signs of a tremendous glow-up which is slowly hitting the floors of the Link. The once-uninspiring, blank walls running alongside the staircases now present colourful depictions of Māori culture, painted in an abstract style.
The art is by Xoe Hall, a Wellington based artist who is known for her “subversive” murals. A key theme of her work is hybridity – a theme that’s particularly salient to Otago Uni following its rebrand.
The layout of tables and blue chairs, once littered throughout the Link, are being replaced by what the Strategic Architect describes as “café-style seating” to allow for a more social setting. These changes – paired with the addition of stylish, modern carpet – promise a more vibrant atmosphere. The perfect environment for stress-cramming sour lollies from Campus Shop into your mouth.
Speaking to the beauties of the Link, one student, Patrick Kees, said, “I guess you could almost call it the University Common Room […] it’s an area where you can go to chill, eat lunch, catch up with friends and just relax and vibe.”
So, how has the space needed to change to better embody this aesthetic? Connor, a Politics and Māori Studies student, described the prior layout of the Link furniture as something akin to a generic American high school lunchroom – bad feng shui. With the added café-like furniture, it will “give a more homely look to the campus,” he reckons.
As one might expect, the process of replacing concrete and tile for vinyl flooring isn’t exactly a quiet job. The renos are being done outside of work hours (from 6pm onwards) – a good outcome for those actively working in the library building throughout the day, but an unfortunate one for those grinding out last-minute assignments. “It’s pretty distracting. I could hear it through my noise-cancelling headphones,” one student mentioned.
The upgrades should be finalised sometime in October as per the University’s notice.