Maybe I just watch too much television, but I've always notices that no situation comedy work environment is complete without a nearby bar, where the ensemble can gather, relax, share the day's gossip and generally develop story lines that wouldn't work in the office. They do this on sitcoms because a bar is a cheap set to build and can be used over and over again.
Still, while working at the GSD is not a sitcom (it doesn't have a laugh track for starters), I feel it would add a sense of community to our working group if there were somewhere to go at the end of the work day to unwind with our fellow workers.
When I arrived at the GSD, there were a few places in the area where some of us would go on a Friday evening to drink and unwind. The Faculty Club is very close, very Harvard, with all the charm and ambiance of a dentist's waiting room. The Wursthaus has atmosphere, and an excellent selection of beers of the world, but is always crowded with tourists. The Hong Kong is less crowded, quite reasonably prices, serves a nearly lethal drink called a Scorpion Bowl, and offers the occasional entertainment of fights in the bar.
I used to work at the Ed School which built its own pub in the basement of Longfellow Hall. It has been quite a success and has earned a well-deserved reputation for excellent coffee and donuts at the start of the day, a high-quality reasonably priced lunch menu, and an excellent atmosphere to unwind at the end of a work day.
The GSD should not be outdone. Surely our need for after-hours camaraderie over a couple of cold beers is no less than the Ed School's. A Design School pub would be a wise investment which would pay for itself (and probably a sizable chunk of the Design School) in no time at all. We could rent space in the recently renovated Busch-Reisinger and built an art deco bar facing the garden, with hanging plants, a cappuccino machine, a wide assortment of beers, and occasional live entertainment. Most of all, it should have an appropriate name, say "Tub 37."