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Rise in Tornadoes, Floods Poses Risk to Colleges
What if the sort of extreme weather that has left the University of Iowa inundated in floodwaters is not a freak event? What if it is a sign of things to come? (Photograph by AP Images)
Art & Architecture Renovations Near Completion at Yale U.
Paul Rudolph's 1963 Brutalist icon is getting a makeover, plus an addition by Charles Gwathmey.
Guest Blogger: Anne Stephenson
Even the greenest construction project increases a college’s carbon footprint.
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Land-Rich Universities Weigh New Options for Real-Estate Development
Universities are taking advantage of new ways to develop their holdings through corporate partnerships, a new report says.
U. of Iowa Begins Mucking Out and Assessing the Damage
The university's insurer spent the weekend starting to assess the damage to the auditorium and 19 other flooded buildings.
U. of Iowa Flooding Takes Costly Toll in Research and Equipment
Parking lots are under water, some roads leading to the campus are closed, and the campus utility infrastructure is damaged.
New campus buildings
Multimedia
A Green Building as a Billboard for Science
(A 2006 Chronicle video)
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About Buildings & Grounds
Buildings & Grounds is written by Scott Carlson (left) and Lawrence Biemiller (right). Scott Carlson writes about architecture, facilties, energy, and sustainability, among other topics. Lawrence Biemiller writes about architecture and facilities and contributes to Notes from Academe. What's happening on your campus? Let us know.
Here's Trouble: A List of the '20 Ugliest Colleges'
OK, let’s all agree first that we’re not going to take this too seriously. Agreed?
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An anonymous blogger has come up with a list of the 20 Ugliest Colleges in the USA. Drexel University took the No. 1 spot—thanks to what the blogger calls “prison-like dorms” and “orange, yes orange, brick buildings.” Helpfully, the blogger included a photo (right) of what I suppose is Drexel’s heating plant. The No. 2 ranking goes to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, followed by Southern Connecticut State University, at No. 3. Down in 20th place is the University of Maryland at College Park, edged out of 19th by Rutgers University.
The blogger’s qualifications? He or she previously compiled a list of the 20 Most Beautiful Colleges in the USA. Readers’ responses to that list, the blogger says, formed the basis of the ugliest-campuses rundown. Pepperdine University was picked as having the most attractive campus, followed by Princeton University and Loyola Marymount University.
It’s hard to know what to make of such lists, although of course I couldn’t keep myself from reading both and reacting with chagrin, glee, astonishment, &c., as appropriate. No mention of the University of Virginia? A slam for Mies van der Rohe’s Illinois Institute of Technology? No picture of the meadow or the redwoods at the University of California at Santa Cruz? And all those fawning photos of crenellations and pointed arches—not just at Princeton but also at Rhodes College and the University of the South. Clearly the list-maker likes Collegiate Gothic and hates just about anything modern. (But then, so do many students and alumni.)
Naturally I’m tempted to start lists of my own. But that’s crazy talk. And admit it, you’ve been working out your own top five even while you’ve been reading this item, haven’t you? See? Already we’re taking this too seriously…. —Lawrence Biemiller
Lawrence Biemiller | Tuesday December 18, 2007 | Permalink | Contact usComments
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UMD College Park is ugly? Every time I’ve been there, I’ve been awestruck by the gorgeous buildings and landscaping!
And, no, I’ve never been a student, employee, or relative of a student or employee there.
— Starbug Dec 18, 09:55 AM #
This is even more interesting, posted by job candidates, employees, and former employees..same reaction. What do you make of these comments? But I can’t help reading them!
http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Universities_to_fear
http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Universities_to_love
— MLM Dec 18, 10:19 AM #
They still look better than some online colleges whose campus is essentially your phone! Of course , phones now come in colors which helps with the ambiance and atmosphere one might expect at any campus.
— Etta B Dec 18, 10:59 PM #
That first photo is not even on Drexel’s campus. It is an old incinerator building far away in the city of Philadelphia that you can’t even see from Drexel’s campus unless you’re on an upper floor of a tall building looking into the distance. Why it’s become associated with the university, even as a student that’s been here 5 years, is beyond me.
— Dan Grossman Dec 19, 01:03 AM #
UMASS Amherst is pretty. The architecture is modernist “people’s temple” type architecture which many dislike, but unless you’re a snob there’s a lot to like.
— Umass alum Dec 19, 06:33 AM #
Agreed about Drexel. It was horribly mistreated in this poll. That building is Philadelphia’s first steam water plant, on land owned by Amtrak. Drexel has made many improvements, including building many new suite-style dorms and academic buildings. Just this academic year, they are remodeling and expanding the gym, building another new dorm, building a new LEED science research building, and building a new park. This sounds to me that they are trying pretty hard, and they have plenty more in their 5 and 10 year plans, which can easily be found by ANYONE on the Internet.
Also, I would post this on the Campus Squeeze blog, but they are not allowing comments and have NO contact information what-so-ever. A pathetic excuse for a news source.
— Jordan Jan 4, 09:49 PM #