[DKNewYork]

In August, at a wedding in Philly, I was seated at the reception beside an architect from Baltimore whose firm did Pitt’s latest master plan. During the course of our conversation, the architect stressed that Pitt’s emphasis was to be on building higher as the university did not want to increase its Oakland footprint. I asked about what might have been proposed but ultimately rejected by Pitt and was surprised to hear that the architects suggested reviving half of the original plan for the Cathedral of Learning site, using the building as a dormitory for the Honor College students. The building was to be a U-shaped Collegiate Gothic building which would front along Fifth Avenue and continue down Bellefield (stopping before Heinz Chapel) and down Bigelow (stopping at the current midblock cross walk). It would have been designed to be no more than four or five stories and in authentic Gothic style, not imitation, using the same stone as the Cathedral---actual stone blocks rather than veneer and with hand-cut stone detail. Apparently the architect’s firm never designs buildings that it proposes as it would be seen as self-serving, so it recommended that the building be designed by Robert AM Stern or the firm responsible for the two new residential colleges at Yale. I was told that the reaction among Pitt leadership was nearly uniform: initially, everyone was shocked at the idea of losing the open space and not all open to it, but then intrigued as the benefits and aesthetics were explained, particularly in a fixed-footprint environment. I can only imagine the outcry if such a proposal were made. And the second outcry when the cost is disclosed.