Hey, it was the ’70s. Few architectural features or interior design elements of the mod new UWGB campus turned more heads than the corridor dubbed “Macaroni Hall.”
Completed in 1973 to connect the Library-Learning Center with the new Student Services Building, the gray concrete tunnel’s first paint job consisted of colorful geometric shapes that looked a lot like… well, macaroni. Psychology Profs. William Smith, Per Johnson and Design Profs. Ronald Baba and David Damkoehler worked with students on the repeating pattern meant to make the corridor more appealing by visually separating it in two. Legend has it there was only one full “O” in the entire 30-yard array. Any results of the experiment were lost to history, as was the paint job, covered over by the mid-1980s.
We should bring back Macaroni Hall! This looks awesome, and it would be a great way to commemorate 50 years.
It was an awesome hall to walk through. Per Johnson talked about it in the classes that he taught which made it even more interesting. The point was to create a calm, yet sense of movement as I recall. Per came from Norway, and liked the contemporary but simplistic art style reflective of Norwegian art.