The Department of Geography began a major renovation to the second and third floors of the Walker Building this year. This phase included installing double doors for the main office and graduate student lounge. A key feature of the renovation is the redesign of the flooring, intended to engage both visitors and the department community while highlighting the connection between the region’s geography and the department’s work.
The floors were designed by professor Cindy Brewer and alumnus Nate Cherok to represent social and physical features of the region. The second floor depicts towns and cities (dark blue), rivers (light blue) and pathways representing human movement (light green). The third floor represents Mount Nittany (light green), rivers (light blue), and trails and ridgelines (orange) that have been vital corridors connecting the region. Both floors are representations that are accurately based on maps of the region. They will serve as baselines for future maps created by members of our community that will be overlaid and depicted in an interactive QR interface. This will allow for many stories of the region’s history and contemporary patterns to show visitors to the department the importance of geography in shaping social and ecological systems.