UNC-Charlotte Construction

[ah59396]

^What a shame.  Charlotte struggles to find an identity, it seems crazy to me that they would tear down one of their most recognizable symbols just because of a repair bill.

[cltbwimob]

I wonder if it could be taken apart in sections and rebuilt elsewhere.  If so, their should be a crowdfunding campaign to move it downtown.

[SgtCampsalot]

So, I'm a UNCC alum. This is sad, but let's be honest, if they take this down, hopefully they can build something that's actually beautiful. Like, really any other bell tower on any other college campus:
A gallery of literally any other option that would be better

 

This thing is more brutalist architecture than anything else.

Edited October 17, 2015 by SgtCampsalot
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[Miesian Corners]

This is utter BS.  Love it or hate it, it IS UNC Charlotte. And I also call BS on the university's assessment that "it will cost $1m to repair".  Really? How much will it cost to tear it down, hire a design team, and rebuild a new public space?  I bet a lot more than $1m. I am so sick and tired on the university trying to erase its past by throwing up faux classicism and red brick veneer on every structure on campus. The alumni association can take my name of its fundraising list from this point forward. I'll not be giving them another dime.

 

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?

That's the rub: they never even asked alumni to donate for repairs.  I would have gladly written a check for that.  GRRRRRR! 

Edited October 17, 2015 by Miesian Corners
spelling

[Third Strike]

^ Exactly. They could have easily raised over a million with crowdfunding and donations from alumni...

Here's a petition to stop the destruction of the Belk Tower:

https://www.change.org/p/university-of-north-carolina-chancellor-dubois-unc-charlotte-stop-the-destruction-of-the-belk-tower?recruiter=406045264&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink

Edited October 17, 2015 by Third Strike

[Norm2]

One the one hand I am sad to see it go. On the other hand They could replace it with something better and make the plaza more beautiful, with trees and stuff.

[cltbwimob]

This is just another example of the systematic destruction of every vestige of Charlotte history and reason number 999 why I wish Dubois would go elsewhere.  

***Edit: signed the petition.

Edited October 17, 2015 by cltbwimob

[dcharlotte]

Signed the petition and I agree - I would have gladly cut a check for repairs. 

[AuLukey]

So, I'm a UNCC alum. This is sad, but let's be honest, if they take this down, hopefully they can build something that's actually beautiful. Like, really any other bell tower on any other college campus:

A gallery of literally any other option that would be better

 

This thing is more brutalist architecture than anything else.

I have to vehemently disagree. That gallery is actually a prime example of why this bell tower needs to be kept. The campus already has an atypical bell tower (much like those listed on your link) at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center/Halton Arena.

This monolithic obelisk on campus actually stands apart from the red brick blandness that the campus is evolving into. If uptown is becoming monotone in beige, campus is becoming monotone in pre-clad brick.

There is every reason in the world to keep this structure aside from the typical Charlotte way of erasing history. After re-cladding every other iconic 100ft+ building on campus, it was only a matter of time before this was scrapped as well.

My license plate proudly displays "First in Freedom," but I bet you $1000 that 9 out of 10 residents in Charlotte can't tell you what that even means. Simply put, Charlotte is brushing it's past under the rug every chance it can get and it's getting old...

[ah59396]

 

 

I have to vehemently disagree. That gallery is actually a prime example of why this bell tower needs to be kept. The campus already has an atypical bell tower (much like those listed on your link) at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center/Halton Arena.

 

This monolithic obelisk on campus actually stands apart from the red brick blandness that the campus is evolving into. If uptown is becoming monotone in beige, campus is becoming monotone in pre-clad brick.

 

There is every reason in the world to keep this structure aside from the typical Charlotte way of erasing history. After re-cladding every other iconic 100ft+ building on campus, it was only a matter of time before this was scrapped as well.

 

My license plate proudly displays "First in Freedom," but I bet you $1000 that 9 out of 10 residents in Charlotte can't tell you what that even means. Simply put, Charlotte is brushing it's past under the rug every chance it can get and it's getting old...

 

 

This!

 

I can never understand the sentiment of "hey, lets distinguish ourselves by getting something that everyone else has!"

[Silicon Dogwoods]

So, I'm a UNCC alum. This is sad, but let's be honest, if they take this down, hopefully they can build something that's actually beautiful. Like, really any other bell tower on any other college campus:
A gallery of literally any other option that would be better

 

This thing is more brutalist architecture than anything else.

I like brutalist architecture, mister!

And while I am not an alumnus of UNC Charlotte, I can remember thinking as a kid how cool I thought that structure was precisely because it is so clean and modern.

Really, really tired of Charlotte's traditionalist fetish. See Towers, Capitol et al. The crappy new apartments are often a relief, even if they are crappy, just because so many of them thumb their nose at red brick and window grids.

Edited October 19, 2015 by Silicon Dogwoods

[Miesian Corners]

 

 

I have to vehemently disagree. That gallery is actually a prime example of why this bell tower needs to be kept. The campus already has an atypical bell tower (much like those listed on your link) at the Barnhardt Student Activity Center/Halton Arena.

 

This monolithic obelisk on campus actually stands apart from the red brick blandness that the campus is evolving into. If uptown is becoming monotone in beige, campus is becoming monotone in pre-clad brick.

 

There is every reason in the world to keep this structure aside from the typical Charlotte way of erasing history. After re-cladding every other iconic 100ft+ building on campus, it was only a matter of time before this was scrapped as well.

 

My license plate proudly displays "First in Freedom," but I bet you $1000 that 9 out of 10 residents in Charlotte can't tell you what that even means. Simply put, Charlotte is brushing it's past under the rug every chance it can get and it's getting old...

 

Yes! Yes! Yes! Please email Dubois the above. I'd love to hear his response. 

[Silicon Dogwoods]

Yes! Yes! Yes! Please email Dubois the above. I'd love to hear his response. 

Are you an alum, Miesian? Why did Dubois drag Carol Folt down from Chapel Hill to swear that he and UNC Charlotte had absolutely no interest in a med school? Did the BOG force him to do that?

[Miesian Corners]

Are you an alum, Miesian? Why did Dubois drag Carol Folt down from Chapel Hill to swear that he and UNC Charlotte had absolutely no interest in a med school? Did the BOG force him to do that?

I am an alumnus. And I'm so tired of Dubois caving to everything Chapel Hill asks him to do (or should I say the NC General Assembly?). 

[Silicon Dogwoods]

I am an alumnus. And I'm so tired of Dubois caving to everything Chapel Hill asks him to do (or should I say the NC General Assembly?). 

I'm a Chapel Hill alumnus. I very much doubt there's any love lost between the General Assembly and UNC, particularly the Chapel Hill campus. They're hardly on speaking terms these days.

So it probably came from our extremely dysfunctional Board of Governors. You know, the ones who can't pick a new UNC President.

UNC Charlotte gets overlooked, shortchanged, stiffed, ignored all the time and it's too bad.

[Miesian Corners]

^^Gee, we had a really great president. Too bad his politics didn't match those of the db's in the Legislative Building in Raleigh. 

[cltbwimob]

I like brutalist architecture, mister!

And while I am not an alumnus of UNC Charlotte, I can remember thinking as a kid how cool I thought that structure was precisely because it is so clean and modern.

Really, really tired of Charlotte's traditionalist fetish. See Towers, Capitol et al. The crappy new apartments are often a relief, even if they are crappy, just because so many of them thumb their nose at red brick and window grids.

I absolutely abhor brutalist architecture, and the Belk Tower, too be honest, isn't exactly a good looking structure.  However it is easily the most recognizable feature on campus, and has been a gathering place for students for nearly half a century.  To tear it down is a proverbial "F--- You" to the history of the University and the thousands of students who have gathered in the shadow of the tower since its construction. 

I would like to see what the new design plans entail; I'll bet what will replace the tower will be far more costly than just fixing the thing in the first place.

[Silicon Dogwoods]

I absolutely abhor brutalist architecture, and the Belk Tower, too be honest, isn't exactly a good looking structure.  However it is easily the most recognizable feature on campus, and has been a gathering place for students for nearly half a century.  To tear it down is a proverbial "F--- You" to the history of the University and the thousands of students who have gathered in the shadow of the tower since its construction. 

I would like to see what the new design plans entail; I'll bet what will replace the tower will be far more costly than just fixing the thing in the first place.

Yes. And it will be traditional dreck, draped in red brick.

There was a recent article in The New York Times about the starchitects retained by the University of Cincinnati to improve the look of its campus. Given that we are about to hire Margaret Spellings as UNC President on Friday, this is of course not in UNC Charlotte's future but it's an interesting read, anyway:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/13/magazine/if-you-build-it-they-will-come-wont-they.html?action=click&contentCollection=Magazine&pgtype=imageslideshow&module=RelatedArticleList&region=CaptionArea&version=SlideCard-1

 

 

 

[birky]

I had the opportunity to speak with a very high ranking administrator at the University last night. I don't want to give out this person's name or title because I don't want this making it's way to the CO.

However, among many other questions, I asked about the topic of a medical school in Charlotte.  There is, apparently, a very active group of community leaders who are pressing for UNC Charlotte to open a medical school. However, there's an awful lot working against it.  UNC Charlotte's endowment is not large enough to sustain the cost of building and maintaining an appropriately sized med school on its own.  Second, the BOG have made major cuts to UNC Chapel Hill med school and have essentially had to bail out or prop up the one at ECU.  Ignoring the political issues at play, there is almost no way, financially, UNC Charlotte could open a med school unless there is a huge change with the BOG.

Surprisingly (although it makes sense once it was explained to me), CMC is extremely cool on the idea of a medical school in Charlotte. Why? Because it will significantly impact their bottom line. They'd have to hire additional medical and support staff to serve in a teaching role (apart from the faculty at UNC Charlotte), not to mention that they'd have to seriously expand their residency positions.

From what I gather, the momentum to open a medical school is coming from an economic perspective. That is, the belief is that having a medical school would result in a significant economic windfall for the city by drawing in bio-med/tech companies.  The group working behind the scenes is not affiliated with CMC or the University, but they're pressing hard to open a medical school. That said, unless there is major political pressure in Raleigh/Chapel Hill, it won't happen anytime in the near or distant future.

Edited October 28, 2015 by birky

[Deleted.]

http://www.fox46charlotte.com/news/local-news/39521130-story
 

Didn't see this anywhere in this thread. But the students and alumni of UNCC are willing to chain themselves to the Belk Tower. 

[videtur quam contuor]

No to the medical school. But football, now there is just what everyone agrees will serve the educational and quality of life issues of our region.

 

[archiham04]

I spoke with some School of Architecture folks yesterday about the bell tower... their take on it was that currently, for whatever reason, that quadrangle does not get the student activity that other quads on campus get... and that a redesign of the quad is in order to make it a more active point of student congregation.  FWIW

[birky]

I spoke with some School of Architecture folks yesterday about the bell tower... their take on it was that currently, for whatever reason, that quadrangle does not get the student activity that other quads on campus get... and that a redesign of the quad is in order to make it a more active point of student congregation.  FWIW

That's the general consensus I've heard as well. The quad is never populated when I pass through, which is fairly often.  Part of the issue is that the center of campus has relocated to other parts of campus as UNC Charlotte has grown.

[Deleted.]

I spoke with some School of Architecture folks yesterday about the bell tower... their take on it was that currently, for whatever reason, that quadrangle does not get the student activity that other quads on campus get... and that a redesign of the quad is in order to make it a more active point of student congregation.  FWIW

Couldn't UNCC redesign the quad but keep the Belk Tower? I would suggest that landscape the quad and repair the Belk Tower. I didn't go to UNCC but it seems that Belk Tower is so important to students and alumni. 

Edited October 29, 2015 by Piedmont767

[atlrvr]

Yes...it's landscaping and hardscaping that is the issue (maybe specifically, no mature trees in that quad) that keeps people from congregating.  In fact, the only seating in that area, or at least when I was at school there 15 years ago, was the base of the bell tower.