THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 30, 1997 TAG: 9701290186
SECTION: NORFOLK COMPASS PAGE: 06 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: COVER STORY
SOURCE: BY JOAN C. STANUS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 100 lines
THE HUNDREDS OF STUDENTS taking night classes on the downtown Norfolk campus of Tidewater Community College aren't studying computer science, English literature and chemistry hidden behind four darkened concrete walls.
Thanks to some forethought in the design of the Granby Street campus, which opened Jan. 6, even when students sit in classrooms, they bring a visible vitality to downtown's nightlife.
Rows of floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows have been installed along the walls of the renovated downtown storefronts and new science building to provide a well-lit view of students studying inside, browsing through stacks of library books and conducting lab experiments.
By February, several landscaped outdoor spaces designed as gathering places for students also will be completed.
With campus life visibly spilling out onto the streets - and the eventual installation of dozens of new street lights along Granby Street - those traversing downtown at night should feel plenty safe among the hustle-and-bustle of the emerging urban campus, TCC administrators contend.
It's a philosophy they're describing as ``light up the night.''
``In traditional buildings . . . with walled-in classrooms . . . you could have a thousand people downtown and no one would know it,'' explained John Massey, director of the community college campus.
``The architect's idea was to really provide a connectedness between the people outside and the students inside to increase a feeling of security. You can always see people and you don't ever get a sense of the campus being deserted.''
That feeling of being unsafe in downtown Norfolk at night after the commuter exodus turns it into a ghost town has plagued the area for years. With some 10,000 college students expected to eventually attend classes - including some 25 classes each night - in the urban setting, , college administrators and city officials are banking on dispelling that perception. The influx of students should encourage additional restaurants, shops and other business activities to open at night, they speculate.
``We are an integral part of the revitalization of downtown,'' said Massey. ``We're not just coming down here and putting in a few classrooms. We have to be an important part of this. What's good for our students is good for the city.''
Making students feel safe at night on campus is part of that equation, he stressed.
``Security has been a concern from Day 1,'' said Massey. ``As we continue to build out on Granby Street, the area will become much brighter. So if the architecture can promote safety in a passive way, it's beneficial to everyone.''
As a result, renovation work to the old Woolworth's and the former Smith and Welton department store included removing the windowless walls and enclosed showcases, erecting classrooms along the exterior walls and installing floor-to-ceiling plate-glass windows. Those window-walls also were incorporated into the design of the new Mason Andrews Science Building.
Another ``security'' element designed in all three of the campus buildings was a dominant hallway linking the interior of the buildings to exterior exits.
``As opposed to the the halls being in a lot of different directions, the architect put a single hall down the middle so that students would always know how to get outside to the street,'' Massey explained.
``These buildings are designed in the opposite way from department stores. Stores are designed to keep you inside the building. You have to work your way through a maze of merchandise and aisles to get out. In our buildings, it's important that students don't have a sense of feeling lost.''
Although the $3 million construction project that will bring the long block of Granby between Freemason and Market streets and three short blocks of adjacent streets up to snuff is not expected to be completed until early March, by February the public spaces among the three campus should be ready for students.
Those include a landscaped plaza alongside the Martin Library, from Granby Street to Monticello Avenue; a outdoor reading garden at the rear of the library, equipped with benches, tables and an enclosed brick-and-iron decorative gate; and a college green fronting the science building.
In addition to offering sites for receptions, small concerts and readings, the areas can be used by students as casual gathering places . . . even at night, Massey said.
``With all the activity that's going to be going on here, this campus is going to be no different than any other urban campus in the country,'' the administrator said. ``In the four years we've been down here, we haven't had any real difficulties. Now, with all this extra visibility, no one should feel unsafe.`` ILLUSTRATION: Photos by including color cover by GARY C. KNAPP
Several classrooms, such as this U.S. history class, are visible
from the street at TCC's new campus in Norfolk.
Plateglass windows that give a view of the activity inside have been
installed across the store fronts that house TCC's Norfolk campus.
John Massey, campus director, strolls one of the straight, airy
hallways that let students know how to get outside.
Massey says a landscaped plaza alongside the Martin Library, from
Granby Street to Monticello Avenue, and a reading garden are in the
works.