A $190,000 grant from the Getty Foundation is funding an in-depth look at the University’s past to create guidelines determining where to site new buildings, helping to preserve campus’ historic open spaces.
The project is different than other historical surveys because it focuses on evaluating the significance of spaces between historic buildings, said Christine Thompson, planning associate for the University Planning Office and planner for the campus heritage landscape plan.
“We recognized that the open spaces are one of the most – if not the most – significant character defining features of the campus,” Thompson said.
The University Planning Office, Historic Preservation Program, the Department of Landscape Architecture, two student interns, and professional consultants Fletcher Farr Ayotte and Carol Mayer-Reed are teaming up to create the landscape preservation plan.
The plan will establish which open areas of campus are historically significant and create guidelines to ensure their preservation when new buildings are going to be built, said Thompson.
The plan should be completed by next fall, she said.
“People who run the campus want to make sure that the campus resources that are culturally and historically significant are maintained, and that potential new development is carried out in the most appropriate … manner,” said Troy Ainsworth, a Fletcher Farr Ayotte architect consulting on the project.
As campuses grow, it becomes increasingly important that they keep the character of the campus by maintaining quads and other open spaces that define them, Ainsworth said.
“I think there’s a growing value (of open spaces) especially on campus,” Ainsworth said. “We’re researching them to help (the University) understand why they’re important.”
Roughly 20 open spaces and 44 buildings will be surveyed. Of the buildings, all built before 1967, 16 have never been surveyed, eight have been partially surveyed, and 20 have been surveyed but require updates.
The open spaces, which are primarily in the older part of campus, include East 13th Avenue, University Street, the Old Campus Quad in front of Deady and Villard halls, and the Memorial Quad in front of Chapman hall and the Knight Library.
“There are certain areas that are classic ‘University of Oregon outdoor spaces’ that you really wouldn’t want to change,” Ainsworth said.
The buildings are being evaluated by a historic preservation class, and the open spaces are being evaluated by the two student interns, landscape architecture majors Dustin Welch and Daniel Schaible.
The spaces are being evaluated on several criteria, including trees and plants, circulation patterns and small scale features such as benches, trash cans and plaques, said Schaible.
Once the surveys are completed, the professional consultants will pull the information together and create guidelines for constructing new buildings on the open spaces, said Thompson. Then, three sites will be tested using the guidelines to see if they are reasonable, she said.
Ainsworth and his colleagues from the Fletcher Farr Ayotte team are all University of Oregon alumni.
“It’s really great to be able to come back and contribute to our alma mater,” Ainsworth said. “You can’t beat that.”
Ainsworth graduated in 1985 with a degree in architecture. He is working alongside alumni Hal Ayotte, Paul Falsetto and Nancy Rottle.
“We were very excited at the prospect of being able to do this project,” Ainsworth said.
He said the project is also unique because there is so much student involvement. With student help, not only can they complete more work in a shorter amount of time, but they can also mentor the students, Ainsworth said.
“For students it’s a great opportunity because they get to work with the profession sooner,” he said.
Thompson also appreciates the student involvement.
“That’s what makes it so interesting,” Thompson said. “That all these people are involved. It’s very rewarding to be able to work on this kind of project.” Schaible said he is enjoying the work he’s putting into the project.
“I’d say it’s incredibly important. We’re doing a lot of the work,” he said. “We objectively rank where future buildings will be placed.”
The University Planning Office applied for the grant, and the University of Oregon won the largest grant of the 10 schools awarded funds.
“We had a desire to conduct this work but didn’t have the means to do it,” Thompson said.
The Getty Foundation is a program of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which has a museum, research institute, and conservation institute based in Los Angeles, according to the organization’s Web site.
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