UNC-Charlotte Construction

[Niner National]

Nice pictures of the statue.

 

Those flag poles have been there for months though. They went up just a few days after they poured that section of concrete on the concourse.

 

There is so much construction work going on on campus right now its crazy.

 

South Village is being completely transformed with the new dining hall, new parking deck, new dorm, and soon to be brick cladding of the high-rises.

 

Combine that with the Circle project that will soon start across 49 and that area of campus will be dramatically different. I really wish Circle had included a few retail parcels. I think a campus bar would work very well there. There will be a few thousand students on that side of campus when everything is finished, not including all the students that live within walking distance from the College Downs neighborhood, Colville (and all the other older complexes adjacent to Colville), and University Walk. Missed opportunity.

[TotalLamer]

and soon to be brick cladding of the high-rises.

 

Woah woah woah... wait.  You mean they're not going to be tearing those things down?  If not, I hope any brick cladding comes with a thorough renovation.  When I lived in them during the 05-06 school year, they were atrocious.  I can only imagine they're even worse now.

[tozmervo]

Nope, they're renovating them. With a floor to floor height under 9', I wish the project team the very best of luck.

[Niner National]

Woah woah woah... wait.  You mean they're not going to be tearing those things down?  If not, I hope any brick cladding comes with a thorough renovation.  When I lived in them during the 05-06 school year, they were atrocious.  I can only imagine they're even worse now.

Nope, renovation would have been significantly cheaper...plus the school couldn't afford to knock down such a huge portion of their housing.

 

The renderings for the brick cladding looked surprisingly decent (but not great), but I can't find any right now.

[TotalLamer]

With a floor to floor height under 9', I wish the project team the very best of luck.

 

Exactly.

 

The height in the actual rooms isn't terrible, but in the hallways anyone over 6' or so is definitely in trouble.

[carolinagarnet]

The ceiling height sounds challenging, but I think dorm renovations have gotten a lot more sophisticated recently. Last year USC renovated Patterson Hall, a '60s style tower with hall layout, into a suite layout building with all of the amenities and LEED Gold certification.

 

 

UNCC can probably do something similar if it dedicates the right amount of funding to the project.

[tozmervo]

Oh, no doubt the buildings will be worlds better. I've been closely involved with a dorm renovation at App State not so long ago, and there's quite a bit that can be done. Even something like replacing the windows will be a drastic improvement, glass has come so far it'd make your head spin. BUT yes, I saw some drawings of those buildings and the floor to floor height is insane low - it's hard to imagine how they got away building them that low in the first place. 

[Niner National]

Just a bit of interesting history, those high rises were the first air conditioned dorms in the country.

[TotalLamer]

The only thing I DID like about those high rises were the two story common rooms (with second floor balcony on all 4 sides) going up the center.

Edited January 25, 2013 by TotalLamer

[Miesian Corners]

 

 

South Village is being completely transformed with the new dining hall, new parking deck, new dorm, and soon to be brick cladding of the high-rises.

Nothing says UNC Charlotte quite like recladding a concrete high rise with fake brick.  Sigh.  Why can't my alma mater embrace modern architecture?  Does it forget it has a college of that type on its campus?  

[SentioVenia]

Nothing says UNC Charlotte quite like recladding a concrete high rise with fake brick.  Sigh.  Why can't my alma mater embrace modern architecture?  Does it forget it has a college of that type on its campus?  

 

The Woodward legacy....trying to evoke Ivy League institutions by bricking up everything.  The result is some seriously homogeneous architecture.

[Niner National]

Nothing says UNC Charlotte quite like recladding a concrete high rise with fake brick.  Sigh.  Why can't my alma mater embrace modern architecture?  Does it forget it has a college of that type on its campus?  

It's real brick....

 

They initially did the library in fake brick, but it didn't work out, so they rebricked it again with real brick the second time.

 

Still though, I understand, and agree with, your point.

[tozmervo]

The Woodward legacy....trying to evoke Ivy League institutions by bricking up everything.  The result is some seriously homogeneous architecture.

 

the aggravating thing is that most ivy league institutions have varied and eclectic campuses. if they have lab buildings they actually look like modern, high-tech lab buildings. 

[Guest]

the aggravating thing is that most ivy league institutions have varied and eclectic campuses. if they have lab buildings they actually look like modern, high-tech lab buildings. 

I took a walk through MIT last weekend, it was astounding how modern and eclectic their architecture was! All I could think was why can't UNCC be like this!

[dubone]

Because MIT has a 150y history and does not have to pretend to have buildings built a century ago.   They actually already have the classic buildings, so they can be free to embrace current architectural trends.  

 

Walmart also needs to pretend to be the façades of an old town center.

[cltbwimob]

I think the architecture for uncc looks decent throughout, even if they are just trying to invoke a false perception of age by making most of the buildings fit the neoclassical mold. I personally wish that the university would focus on substantive changes to create an identity for themselves distinct from uncch. Changes such as adding extra engineering and science majors ( aerospace, biomedical, chemical, environmental, nuclear engineering, nuclear physics), as well as adding a med school plus either a law school or vet school, and changing the name to University of Charlotte would create a refreshed identity and establish the school as a top tier research institution.

[Urbanity]

I took a walk through MIT last weekend, it was astounding how modern and eclectic their architecture was! All I could think was why can't UNCC be like this!

 

 

Because MIT was founded in 1861 and has the sixth largest endowment in the United States (close to 10 Billion) while UNC Charlotte founded in 1946 (though only moved to its current location in 1961) doesn't even rank. (Edit - It's listed at $140 million)

 

I get what a lot of people are saying about the sameness of the architecture, but I also hear from a lot of people who respect the traditional look being consistent throughout the campus.  

 

Also the UNC Charlotte current Center City Building is far from the red brick roman column look so there should be some appreciation that UNC Charlotte is not opposed to non-traditional architecture. I do understand that UNC Charlotte will have at least a second building at the site as well and assume that it will also be more of non-traditional look as well.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Urbanity

[Miesian Corners]

I don't get it.  When a university maintains a college of architecture on its campus, I would think free-thought and innovation would be paramount to what a post-secondary education supposedly seeks to encourage.  

 

Regardless, what angers me about this (beyond the obvious) is that the recladding of the high-rises is a real line item in a budget; those dollars could have been spent elsewhere.  It's the epitome of waste.   

[Urbanity]

^That's great in theory (and I agree with you) but how do you propose they pay for it?  

 

I hope I'm not coming across as argumentative, but I think the expectations and disapproval voiced for UNC Charlotte's building culture are divorced from reality to a large degree.    Whether one likes it or not (and I get the arguments against and to a degree I am with them) you have to admit there is a sound rationale for the planners to want a consistent look throughout the campus and going with the style they have.  

 

For one thing it is a classic look that ages well.  That alone makes budgetary sense.  A second thing is that it is an acceptable and I might even suggest an expected style for most college type buildings when most people (not urban building aficionados)  envision a college campus.

 

With no law school, no medical school and its short history of existence UNC Charlotte has no significant alumni donor base and thus a heavy reliance on State funding which I think all agree does not have a significant  (any?) record of funding cutting edge style buildings.

 

When you consider that reality, I think UNC Charlotte has done an amazing job in growing and developing a tasteful and beautiful campus even if it is what some consider a boring architectural style.

 

One last thought - I think people should actually visit the interior of some of the newer building (particularly EPIC and the Student Union) before writing off many of the buildings based solely on the facade. 

 

EDIT - just reread your comment about the waste of money on re-cladding the buildings in brick.  I honestly don't have full details, but I do know the buildings as some of the oldest buildings on campus had to be either demolished and rebuilt or renovated due to issues raining from water/weather damage to the building exterior to outdated interiors (including electrical and plumbing).  My understanding is that contrary to a waste of money, the renovations including the re-cladding is cheaper then demolishing and rebuilding.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Urbanity

[Miesian Corners]

I understand, and no, I don't think you're being argumentative (although I might be  ).  As a graduate of UNC Charlotte, I want the best for it. But I think its aggressive attempt at covering up its mid-to-late 20th Century history is a mistake.  Architecture needn't be monotonous to be complimentary. Campus architecture should reflect the university's past, not strive to cover it up.

Edited January 27, 2013 by Miesian Corners

[Urbanity]

^agreed!   I just think UNC Charlotte's budgetary hands are tied.  

 

BTW Not to beat a dead horse but I also would invite everyone to also consider Storrs (the School of Architecture Building) and Colvard as two examples on the campus that were built as modernist for their time and in my opinion have aged the worst particularly in appearance.

[Miesian Corners]

I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I like to use Fretwell as the example.  Harry Wolf's award-winning building looks as good today as it did the day it opened in 1979 (but I will concede the interior of it is a dreadful place to work).  Likewise, the 1982 Reece Administration building's sleek soldier brick facade with its horizontal windows could have been designed and built last year. Architecture doesn't have to be expensive to be good. 

Edited January 27, 2013 by Miesian Corners

[DEnd]

The Woodward legacy....trying to evoke Ivy League institutions by bricking up everything.  The result is some seriously homogeneous architecture.

Irony right there. Considering the Ivy's mimiced much of the architectural stylings of the established universities in Europe. http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/frosh/2001/blue/p54.html

 

[dubone]

I agree with some use of classic styles and I DEFINITELY agree with the use of bricks as a building material, but I prefer more modern uses of it.   I can see the problem with redoing façades for NO other reason that style.     

 

I have long held that brick as a building material seems to look better with age.   And even the faux neo-this and that seems to age better than all the examples of 'fuckit'  architecture that seemed to be rampant in the 1970s.

 

I do not think the university will look better if it got cheap knock-offs of Gehry, but certainly it would benefit from some diversity of styles and materials.  Sadly, it seems that the choices are between cheap knock-offs of classic styles or cheap knock-offs of modern styles.

It is the pretense that is the real problem.   There are many technologies and designs that solve real functional and longevity problems (daylighting, passive solar, other LEED options) which should be the primary consideration over aesthetics, but then aesthetics on a campus are important for many many reasons, especially when architecture is a subject taught in that campus.  

 

Getting a suit from Target is fine in some cases for trying to look dressed up and make a good impression, but you need to be prepared for people who know something about fashion to not consider you in a high regard and recognize it as low quality, poor fit, or bad style.   Sadly, some of the 1970s buildings on UNCC campus are so bad they are analogous to Dickies or sweatpants, so it is probably worth the upgrade to the cheap suit.  Just don't expect anyone to be truly impressed.  

[AuLukey]

A sad, sad day for Charlotte alumni yesterday.  Dubois announced the university will be tearing down the 45 year old Belk Tower over winter break due to safety concerns.  The repair bill apparently would have reached $1 million.  I'm surprised the university didn't reach out to donors or put up a drive to raise money for repairs rather than just deciding to scrap the thing.  Many a hours were spent by my friends and I at that tower.  Whether it be eating lunch in its shadow, sitting on the "nub" while people watching for hours (early morning walk-of-shames were particularly entertaining,) or sitting back listening to the insane rantings of preachers and watching some of the overreactions by fellow students, I have a lot of fond memories of that bell tower.

The plan is to redesign/re-landscape the entire plaza.  Between demo and redesign, I'd imagine the cost will exceed $1 million anyway.  I'm trying to wrap my head around the decision process here.

Observer Article

Apparently the school also has a survey up for whether you would like to buy a piece of the tower...  How bout you just ask me to donate money towards saving the damn thing instead?