From a blueprint to a groundbreaking, and from a metal skeleton to a furnished building, the long-awaited Horne Academic Center will welcome students this fall semester.
The Horne Academic Center is a 45,000-square-foot building that will house the Film and Media Arts program, and the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, according to Taylor University’s website. The building features a 2,500-square-foot television studio, a 3,500-square-foot film sound stage and a large room for film equipment that students can check out.
The first floor will include the Vandermeulen Innovation Hub, a furnished space for entrepreneurial students to gather.
The need for a new film building was evident as early as 2005, Kathy and John Bruner, professors of film and media arts said.
“We knew before we took these jobs that the space in Rupp wasn’t what was really needed,” John Bruner said. “But it wasn’t until 2010 that I submitted a document that specifically outlined what a facility should contain, with room adjacencies, acoustic requirements, et cetera.”
The Bruners experimented with 11 proposed locations on campus and many architectural drawings before deciding on the location and layout of Horne.
Taylor’s Film and Media Arts program draws in an average of 26 new students a year to the university, Kathy Bruner said. The program utilizes professional equipment and software, which students use to create award-winning work.
Horne is a big milestone in the program's growth and development which Kathy Bruner believes will open the door to new opportunities for film students.
For example, the new building will have a television studio and a sound stage where content can be filmed. The sound stage will also allow filmmakers to achieve better audio quality without interference.
“Having a television studio that is separate from a film sound stage will allow us to use both at the same time,” John Bruner said. “We’ll also be able to set up and operate our remote production trailer at the same time as the studio.”
In addition to housing the Film and Media Arts program, the new building will also have space for Taylor’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE).
Mick Bates, director of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, said the CIE equips students to be “Kingdom class innovators,” people who use the image of God implanted in them to be part of creative solutions.
“Entrepreneurship is more about having someone with a state of mind to alter the future,” Bates said. “It’s not just about business, not just about money. It’s really someone that … want(s) to make a good, positive change.”
Until now, the CIE was only virtual, Bates said. He is excited about the tangibility and legitimacy Horne will provide the innovation and entrepreneurship program. The center will have approximately 2,500 square feet on the first floor fitted with several monitors, comfortable seating areas and storage space for projects. Students will be able to go to this space to collaborate and work creatively.
While Horne will house separate spaces for film and innovation and entrepreneurship, Bates said the two programs will be able to complement each other by being housed in the same building. In the same way, both film and entrepreneurial students look forward to simply having a place to be creative in various ways.
Maddie Crawford, junior film student, said that while she will cherish the memories made in Rupp, she is looking forward to having more space to collaborate with her peers and create better work.
“I think now having a space that is on a more professional level is just going to prepare us that much more for the industry,” Crawford said. “It’s just going to help us be more professional in our student filmmaking and also much more prepared for when we go out into the actual industry.”
The Horne Academic Center has been a highly anticipated project for both students and staff. The Taylor community got to watch the building take on subtle developments over the last year, but will be able to step inside its walls this fall. From construction site to welcome sign, Horne is finally here.
