The Collegian

Issue date: 3/6/08 Section: Focus

Like a slice of pie or triangle of cheese, a wedge shape typically features a rounded end with two tapering sides meeting at a point. Shaping a building into a wedge is the ultimate use of space, especially in crowded cities.

Though Hillsdale is not a city pressed for space, the downtown is home to a space-utilizing building. It features businesses and sophisticated, brick-walled apartments and sports its most natural name: The Wedge.

"This is one specific instance of trying to maximize space," City of Hillsdale Planning and Zoning Administrator Deb Sikorski said. "It is a compact design. They want to keep building density low downtown and when this building went in … it was prime real estate."

Junior Evn Aue, tenant of one of the high-ceilinged apartments on the second floor, said the shape makes it easy to give people directions.

"It's really easy to identify," he said. "I tell them, 'you can't miss it it's the building shaped like a wedge."

For Aue, his wedge apartment provides an alternative world. The floors are hardwood with black wood accents. Exposed ventilation and support beams only add to the sophisticated atmosphere.

His living room features six arched windows against an imperceptibly tapering wall. In the bedrooms the taper of the wedge is more pronounced but doesn't prove a problem for decorating.

"If the rooms were smaller, or if you had a lot of furniture, it could be a problem," Aue said. "It adds a cool dynamic."

Senior Tim Wilson, Aue's roommate, said the shape of the room limits his furniture layout. His bed only fits along one wall and to have walking space he resorted to keeping his desk in his walk-in closet.

"If I had to change anything about the place it would be the room [layouts]," Wilson said. "We basically have one room and two bedrooms. There is not much division or variety."
Senior Lindsay Davenport, also a renter at The Wedge, said unless she is in her room, she doesn't notice the slope.

"Sometimes it feels more like a box than a wedge," she said. "It's actually really easy to decorate because of the brick we don't have to do much to the walls."
Both Aue and Davenport said the biggest perk is living downtown, especially when things get hectic on campus.

"It's nice being away from school," Davenport said.

Aue enjoys being close to the Hunt Club and the Palace Café. The Wedge's downtown location, though a blessing, can also be a curse. Parking, Aue said, is one of the few negative aspects. Renters must park behind the Hunt Club or at the Keefer House at night.

"I've gotten plenty of parking tickets," Aue said of his occasionanl refusal to move his car on snowy nights. "You don't always get a ticket. It's like taking a risk every time."

For more on the Wedge click here

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