A Nice Day in Ann Arbor

[ariesjow]

I took the time out today to take somes pictures around Ann Arbor with my new digital camera. This is my first time with this camera and I'm no Annie Leibovitz so the pictures aren't that great. But tell me what everyone thinks anyway.

UM's new Public Policy building is a beauty but it's sort of out of scale with it's surroundings. It seems large and dwarfs everything around it including the Law Quad.

University of Michigan Law School Quad: The jewel of the campus and arguably the most beautiful law school campus in the nation (ok, as a student, I'm biased). This is part of the Lawyer's Club, student housing solely for law students.

The opposite side of the Law Quad - the Law School's Reading Room. Gorgeous inside and out.

Michigan Union

Angell Hall

Museum of Art next door to Angell Hall and across the street from the Law Quad

Tower Plaza: One of Ann Arbor's few high rises. This thing is ugly as hell and sticks out of the Ann Arbor skyline like a sore thumb.

I believe this cute little old building is owned by one of the fraternities. I have no idea what is uses for but I'm glad it's preserved.

Nickel's Arcade next to an example of some of the nice new renovation that is going on around central Ann Arbor. This building houses an Aveda salon.

Intersection of State and Packard

Great old architecture

Yet another example.

Finally, Main Street.

[wolverine]

Excellent pictures! Nice and crisp. New cameras are so much fun.

[ZachariahDaMan]

Awesome pics!

[LA Dave]

Wonderful pics. I, too, think that the Law School is the most beautiful in the nation. Harvard has a wonderful Richardson building, though, and Chicago has one by Eero Saarinen. But, taken as a group, I think that Michigan wins the prize.

The building to the south of Nickels Arcade is new to me. When I was a student, a very controversial McDonald's was built there. Glad to see that it is "with the fishes."

[dtown]

great pics,i should visit A2 someday

[mgman]

Some time in the near future, the law school is going to do a large construction project. Most of it will be below ground including an upgrade of the basement of the legal research building. However, there will be a new entrance on Monroe with big windows and underground trees. There is this really bad drawing of the proposed plan but I could not find it. There will also be a new building on top of the libary at the corner of Monroe and Tappan. I am extremely happy that it will not start until after I am out of here (the public policy construction was terrible last semester).

[LA Dave]

Some time in the near future, the law school is going to do a large construction project. Most of it will be below ground including an upgrade of the basement of the legal research building. However, there will be a new entrance on Monroe with big windows and underground trees. There is this really bad drawing of the proposed plan but I could not find it. There will also be a new building on top of the libary at the corner of Monroe and Tappan. I am extremely happy that it will not start until after I am out of here (the public policy construction was terrible last semester).

I suffered through the construction of the underground library in 1979-80 -- our Lawyers Club room was located just above a lot of pile driving. Fortunately (or not), I had an 8 a.m. class so had to be up in any event.

The reason the addition was built underground was that the original plan, for a sort of brutalist neo-Gothic aboveground building, was so bloody awful that the school (or alumni) rebelled and force Gunnar Birkerts to get inventive. Frankly, I think that the solution is magical; you never really feel that you're underground in that building, thanks to the innovative use of the light wells.

[wolverine]

Hmm, I thought the office max was part of the original property. I think it's an office max. I figured since it is on the Arborland proper, and is quite dated looking, it was part of the mall.

So why did Arborland fail? Was it because Briarwood was dominating the market?

Additionally, people seem to complain that Briarwood is too small. It is kind of small, but I wondering if that was because of the other malls like Arborland and the Galleria that kept Briarwood at its size. It doesn't even have a food court.

There are photos of the model somewhere on the net. The model actually recently had some damage to it, and was being repaired by some architecture students. The renovation looks amazing. Renzo's plans appear to be excellent and show great care for the existing Law School design

The ugly brutalist addition is set to be demolished.

I believe a lot of the underground library will be gutted and completely overhauled. Although, innovative, its kind of ugly. Renzo will also completel the quadrangle with the existing architecture which is probably going to be extremely expensive. He also plans to have that large glass underground entry, which looks impressive. I can't wait to see some official drawings and renderings.

[ATLBrain]

Wow, what a great college town. And I thought Chapel Hill and Athens were nice college towns! I used to live only 40 miles from AA (in Bloomfield Hills), but I always just bypassed AA on the Interstate... too bad! I do remember seeing a large stadium next to I-94, however.

[WALD0123]

I believe the powers that be have changed their plans in regards to the law school renovation and expansion. The Renzo Piano plan was met with some criticism and they've chosen a new firm. Check out the details in the Student Newspaper of the University of Michigan Law School.

[nofunk]

Very nice tour of lovely Ann Arbor. That's an especially nice capture of Washington Square (the first "great old architecture" shot). One of my favorite buildings downtown.

[GRguy]

Nice shots! The new Public Policy building will have to grow on me, right now it looks like a building only its mother could love...

[wolverine]

I like it for the most part, but hate that horrid mechanical penthouse. I have no clue what Stern was thinking when he tacked that thing on the top. It really throws the whole building off balance.