Stubben student house opens in December 23

SSN is building a brand new student centre/assembly hall on Campus Rauland, which has been named Stubben. The student centre is being built in the immediate vicinity of the new student accommodation at Rauland, which is a stone's throw from the university building.

Good co-operation with the municipality has been crucial in providing Rauland with its first student house. Vinje Municipality has allocated NOK 5 million to the project, which is currently under construction and will be completed in December 2023. At the time of writing in August, the foundations of the 230 square metre building are in place.

– The opening of the student centre means new offices for the student democracy and SSN, conversation rooms and a separate gathering place for the students. It's a real advantage to have dedicated areas for good co-operation and community, writes deputy chair Karoline Lundeng on behalf of the student campus board at Rauland in an email to SSN.

Special flooring for dancing

Lisbeth Varpe is project manager for property development at SSN and has full control of the building project. She says that students on the campus board at Rauland have been actively involved in the planning and that a lot is now starting to come together.

The building will be able to be used actively by all 140 students at USN Campus Rauland, and something that is particularly important at Rauland is that it is designed to facilitate dancing and rhythmic stomping for fiddling. Campus Rauland is well known for its folk music programme.

– In the large common room / banqueting hall, which will be the main room in the building, there will be a special oak parquet floor suitable for dancing. The students also want a disco ball, and there will be a sound system and projector. There will also be a kitchenette where simple food can be prepared, says Lisbeth, who also explains that a class in the Architectural Lighting Design programme at USN Campus Kongsberg will create a lighting plan for the banquet hall as a start-up project in the programme.

Multi-purpose centre

In addition to the banqueting hall, the building will house offices and meeting rooms for the student democracy at Rauland, as well as offices and waiting rooms for SSN's counselling service.

The student campus board at Rauland hopes that their small campus (which already scores sky-high on well-being in the SHoT survey) will have an even better flow when new meeting places are established in the new student house:

– We believe that proper meeting points will make it easier for students to find information, help and follow-up that contributes a lot to a good study period.

The large common room, the banquet hall, will also be an important addition:

– The large common room in the student house will be great for socialising on our campus; for a varied, open and inclusive environment. The space can be used to gather for both study-related work and leisure activities. Students can make it their own with events such as concerts, jamming, game nights, courses, clubs, cinema, communal meals and anything else students can think of. The student centre will also be important as a common area for the new accommodation, writes deputy head Karoline, and emphasises:

– We look forward to the opening and creating new traditions and good times together in the new student centre!

Curious about the new student accommodation at Campus Rauland?