Monday, November 10, 2003

stop, hey, what's that sound -- everybody look what's going down

A bit of news for alumni: this week, Chancellor Wiley announced a 15-year plan to radically rebuild the east end of campus into a new, arts-oriented district. Buildings slated for demolition in the 15-year plan include Humanities, Ogg Hall, Peterson, the Extension Building, Student Services (the old bank building on Park Street), and University Square. I normally dislike announcements like this, but (with the exception of the old bank building) this is a collection of ugly, fortress-mentality buildings that campus will be well rid of. Every friend I have who ever attended UW will understand this sentiment:

"I want to be the first person to swing a sledgehammer at the Humanities Building," said Wiley, who studied physics and taught engineering at UW and who compared the feel of the classroom space in the Humanities Building to a prison.

New building includes a new dormitory on the University Square site, and another just south from where Ogg Hall is now, in a green field near the SERF and the old railroad tracks; a new consolidated building for humanities which would have room for the art (currently scattered in 8 buildings) and music departments. Also, perhaps building on the unique success of the State Street pedestrian mall:

Creating a pedestrian mall with greenspace and an outdoor sculpture garden and an outdoor performance space to run from the Memorial Union Terrace to Regent Street. The point, Wiley said, is not only to create a better living environment, but also to encourage walking, bike riding and alternative transportation in the congested campus area. "It will compare with the Union Terrace as an experience every student and alumnus remembers."

(The part about Regent Street is either wrong or something got telescoped - closing Park Street from the Terrace to Regent would be a traffic nightmare. I suspect the pedestrian mall runs near the Union, and it's the sculpture garden that would extend in a strip down to Regent. There are more details in the article and I encourage former Badgers to follow the link. This will really reshape what UW looks like, and mostly for the better, I think.