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Green Building, Red Tape
Some colleges have decided to build sustainably but skip costly LEED certification. (Photo courtesy Northern Arizona U.)
Princeton Review Will Issue 'Green' Ratings in Coming College Guide
Guest Blogger: Xarissa Holdaway
Unconsciously, many universities follow smart-growth principles
Guest Blogger: Lawrence Speck
A few words in praise of Modern buildings (a few of them, at least)
Other News
Thieves hit U. of Michigan Stadium Construction Site
Jahn's Library Dome at U. of Chicago: Elegant Minimalism or Self-Indulgent Object?
Anticipation Builds for U. of Louisville Health Research Facility
New campus buildings
Multimedia
Modernism in Albany
(An audio slide show)
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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.
Shop Talk: Erasing the 1960s From the Campus Map, Failing the Smell Test, and More
The U. of Wisconsin at Madison plans to replace the 1968 Humanities Building, designed by the Chicago architect Harry Weese. (U. of Wisconsin at Madison image)
Erasing the 1960s from the campus map: Because so many buildings from the 1960s and 1970s are slated for demolition at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, future students may miss out on an entire era in the university’s architectural history, says Arnold Alanen, a professor of landscape architecture at the university. Modernist structures like the George L. Mosse Humanities Building were often poorly designed and poorly constructed, Mr. Alanen says in an article about the institution’s preservation dilemmas in The Daily Cardinal, the student newspaper. That makes the Modernist structures less likely to be preserved than older, better-loved buildings, such as the university’s dairy barn and a gymnasium known as the Red Gym. “Although Modernist buildings are hard to love, it may very well be that the appreciation for them will grow over time,” he says. “The conundrum is, of course, that they may all be gone by the time this appreciation emerges.”
New Florida campus draws fire: Florida’s governor, Charlie Crist, is backing a plan for a new University of South Florida campus in Lakeland—a plan he vetoed just last year, according to an editorial in Sunday’s Tampa Tribune. The newspaper says that while the state may need another university, the Lakeland plan doesn’t pass the smell test: “Taxpayers are being hoodwinked if they think the USF Lakeland plan is all about helping students in Florida’s Heartland. As much as anything, this campus is about helping a large landholder build a new community.” The landholder, the Williams Company, of Tulsa, Okla., gave the state 530 acres for the new USF campus “with the understanding that the campus would serve 16,000 students,” the paper says. But projected enrollment is only about a tenth of that—and to grow larger, the new university would have to steal students away from the existing Polk County Community College. The land the company donated is part of a 2,500-acre development that will offer upscale homes, shopping centers, a golf course, and a research park.
A senior-class gift of benches and trees: The Senior Class Council at the University of Colorado at Boulder is asking class members to contribute their $200 enrollment deposits so that the Class of 2008 can donate a plaza to the university. According to an article in The Campus Press, the plaza would be completed by 2010 and would feature trees, benches, and grills. It would be constructed near Hallett Hall, a large 1956 residence hall that was renovated in 2000. The plaza idea has overwhelming support among seniors, the article says.
Lawrence Biemiller | Monday April 28, 2008 | Permalink | Contact usComments
Previous: Dormitories: At U. of Colorado, a Residential College; at Tufts U., Getting Fancier
Next: At UCLA, Rafael Viñoly Makes Inventive Use of Air Space on a Tight Plot
Preserving 60’s architecture should have only one purpose: to remind future generations that classicism in defense of beauty is no vice.
— first marci Apr 28, 04:21 PM #
Ahhh, Florida politics at it’s best!
— GL Apr 28, 05:03 PM #
Ah, from DC you might miss the behind the scenes politics, feuds, and general misinformation that brought about that Tribune editorial.
I invite you to check out my column about the editorial:
The Trib & USF Lakeland
— Chuck Welch Apr 28, 05:45 PM #