The UW isn’t looking for just any firm to develop conceptual drawings for a new, remodeled HUB — it’s looking for one that will really listen to the campus community.

Since gaining approval to commission drawings for a remodel in spring, the project’s evaluation committee has narrowed the list of candidates down to three architectural firms. Each will make a presentation on Dec. 4 to the UW Architecture Commission, which will make the final choice.

The firms’ plans for soliciting student, faculty and staff feedback about the project are the most important criteria being considered in this stage of the selection process, said Lincoln Johnson, director of Student Activities and Union Facilities (SAUF).

The selected firm will spend next spring quarter in conversation with different campus groups to determine their needs and wants for the building, he said. That process will most likely involve a series of meetings, surveys and focus groups.

“We really want this to be a group brainstorming session,” Johnson said. “We don’t know what we want this to be yet. That’s why that student, faculty and staff input is so important.”

Only firms that have prior experience working on student union buildings are being considered, he said.

Some students that use the HUB regularly have some ideas about how the building could be improved, said Sam Al-Khoury, one of two students serving on the project’s evaluation committee.

“In terms of what needs to happen to this building, one of the biggest keys is to make it more accessible and open… place students really want to be in,” he said. “What would really be nice is a large central space where people can congregate. It’d be really nice if students had a place where they could just be and find a community, rather than sitting on some steps by Suzzallo.”

The student group offices in the HUB’s sub-basement are also unattractive and could use renovation, Al-Khoury said.

“Those are horrible,” he said. “It would be great if those could be redesigned and made a little less dungeon-like.”

SAUF and the Student Activities Fee Committee are covering the cost of the conceptual drawings. Each agreed in May to contribute $125,000.

Once the drawings are completed, SAUF and the UW will decide whether to proceed with the project and how to fund it.

The HUB was originally built in 1949, though rooms have been added since then.

Right now, the student union building at Washington State University is undergoing an $86 million renovation, and the University of Southern California and Ohio State University are also proceeding with $100 million remodels of their student union buildings.

Reporter Melissa Santos: melissasantos@thedaily.washington.edu.