Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, March 12, 1994 TAG: 9403140227
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By ALLISON BLAKE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
An addition to Newman Library could offer just such a space if Tech adopts one of several proposals being considered for a new master plan in the works. Tech is spending $300,000 to have Boston-based Sasaki Assoc. produce a state-required master plan by early summer - a sort of wish list and campus construction roadmap combined.
"It's a good planning tool to guide future development so that we can plan the campus," said Scott Hurst, a university planner and project manager.
Long-discussed campus projects are pillars of the plan, as Tech tries to find ways to deal with a 400,000-square-foot shortage in campus buildings, based on the state's estimates. University architect Peter Karp says the school itself would put the estimate much higher, but the effort is aimed at housing the 25,000 students expected in the coming decade.
Included in the master plan are ideas for the location of many proposed buildings the university hopes to see constructed in the next 10 years. They include:
A chemistry/physics building, at 101,500 square feet.
80,000 square feet of undergraduate classrooms.
a 45,000 square-foot library expansion.
Other proposals are a bit further along in the planning process, but didn't make it into this year's state budget. Among those:
A student health and fitness center, to include health services, a swimming pool, a gym and related equipment. That building is proposed at 139,600 square feet.
Conversion of the upper quad from residences to classrooms. The General Assembly this session turned down $32 million to convert the quad, but the project remains on the planning board. This effort is part of an overall plan to consolidate student housing, save money by turning old dorms into academic spaces and running only two dining halls.
But as much as buildings, Sasaki planner Perry Chapman sees character-building miniprojects that will add to the overall campus atmosphere and life. Trees planted along all roadways, for instance. Signs directing visitors to campus by way of Price's Fork Road - so they don't wander the sometimes confusing back entrance off Route 460.
A proposed parking garage could solve ever-persistent parking problems. One place to put it would be the most visible location where campus and town intersect - near North Main Street. But the garage wouldn't be the focal point. A creative arts center, to be shared by citizens of town and campus alike, would. Or could.
To help develop the idea of melding the two communitites, architect Phil Esocoff of Washington, D.C., went back in Tech's history. Preston Olin Hall, historically the school's first building, stood at the end of Main Street. In 1913, it burned down.
In an effort to "reacquaint" the town and university, Esocoff envisions a small building at College Avenue and North Main Street, connected to an excavation of old Preston Olin Hall's foundation. Maybe an art gallery on the corner.
Tech's "collegiate gothic'' architecture and drillfield already give the campus a distinct look, Chapman said. But the wish list on the master plan could define open areas, create a flow of trees and grass, and otherwise improve the campus.
Planners will be back in town at the end of the month to further discuss ideas with university administrators, in the hopes of coming up with a final vision.
by CNB