AUSTIN | Projects & Construction II

[KevinFromTexas]

HIGHER EDUCATION
UT new media center to break ground in spring

Center will house School of Journalism, Department of Advertising.
Saturday, November 07, 2009

Construction of the $50.7 million Belo Center for New Media at the University of Texas is scheduled to begin in April.

...

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/07/1107belocenter.html

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

...

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/11/07/1107belocenter.html

Like the design! You're starting to see more modern design elements alongside the school's traditional Spanish Colonial architecture. The recent construction was starting to get a little ubiquitous again.

[nixcity]

Is this replacing an existing building?

[MichaelB]

Originally Posted by nixcity

Is this replacing an existing building?

nope. It's been a parking lot for decades.

[nixcity]

Thanks, good to hear.

[H2O]

I think the white railing on the Austonian is to support swing stages for window washers. All highrises have them, but usually they cannot be seen behind solid parapets.

[Aiphanes]

Ok light rail is cool and all...but where are they gonna put the tracks?

[wwmiv]

Originally Posted by Aiphanes

Ok light rail is cool and all...but where are they gonna put the tracks?

Typically, when light rail is added to a metro area, through denser sections it runs through actual streets (parts of the street have to be dug up and remodeled to fit the light rail structure) and through the suburban areas a new path is created to suit the light rail tracks.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by nixcity

Is this replacing an existing building?

As posted above, it is replacing a parking lot - and a parking lot that is a deadening influence on campus, at that. It will help integrate this area of campus by filling in a major gap in the campus. For example, Almetris Duren Hall, the newest dorm at UT, will now be more connected to the rest of campus.

Map that shows placement of this building:

http://www.utexas.edu/operations/construction/

For what it's worth, I believe that UT is planning on replacing the building across the street. UT views many of the 60s era buildings as blights on campus life and walkability. One of the two buildings I have heard getting discussed as prime candidates for getting replaced is right across the street from the new Belo center. That would be Jesse T. Jones Communication building. In my opinion, it is probably the most awful and depressing buildings on campus and in the running for the most depressing building I have ever seen. It is designed to make you feel like an ant.

http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/cmb.html

The other building I have heard getting discussed in replacement talks is Burdine Hall.

http://www.utexas.edu/maps/main/buildings/bur.html

That image makes the building look a LOT better than it does in real life, but granted, it is much better than CMB. But the interiors are freakin' awful - speaking as someone who worked in this building. Right now Burdine has the sociology department as well as assorted liberal arts departments that have no other home (Religious Studies, American Studies, etc.) Also, if your department's building goes through renovations, you get shuttled to Burdine. This is what happened to my department (history) - we were sent to Burdine for a year and a half while they renovated Garrison. Word on the street (which is really just rumor, I know) is that when they finish the new liberal arts building on the east mall, that they want to demolish and replace Burdine. Or maybe I did actually read something about that in the Alcalde. Can't remember.

In all honesty, UT would probably love to replace more of the math/science/engineering buildings that line Dean Keaton, but it's far less practical to replace something like RLM...

I'm still waiting on the supposed Speedway reconstruction into a pedestrian mall. The Alcalde had an article claiming they were going to start last fall, and I don't think that ever happened. If they don't get started on that, their arguments against rail on Speedway look weaker and weaker.

[KevinFromTexas]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

One of the two buildings I have heard getting discussed as prime candidates for getting replaced is right across the street from the new Belo center. That would be Jesse T. Jones Communication building.

That makes sense. The building houses the KLRU studios including the Austin City Limits studio, so with that moving to the new W project in downtown, that will take away a major tenant. Who knows, it could end up being vacated entirely. I would be willing to bet though that they could renovate it to make it more pedestrian friendly and more attractive. The building does front Guadalupe with some nice trees lining the sidewalk. It could be made more pedestrian oriented.

[imzache]

I'm a student at UT, and Burdine is my absolute least favorite building there. I hate when I have classes there, it's so distractingly ugly. I'd be all for replacing it.

While I agree CMB is also an eyesore, as a film student I'd hate to be deprived of the studios, haha.

[KevinFromTexas]

^There's also the sentimental value of all the taped episodes of Austin City Limits there. Some of the people who performed there are no longer living - Stevie Ray Vaughan, Waylon Jennings and Roy Orbison are just a few.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by imzache

I'm a student at UT, and Burdine is my absolute least favorite building there. I hate when I have classes there, it's so distractingly ugly. I'd be all for replacing it.

While I agree CMB is also an eyesore, as a film student I'd hate to be deprived of the studios, haha.

Is it possible that they could temporarily use space in the Belo center to replace the CMB's studios while they build a replacement? I had the same thought process as you did regarding that, and then it clicked that maybe the Belo center could help take some of the pressure off.

On the other hand, while they're demolishing the Experimental Science Building and building Norman Hackerman Hall in its place, I think I remember reading in the Daily Texan that there will be a few general lab courses that will just not be taught for year.

And yes, agreed that Burdine is hideous. Insanely, insanely hideous. Classes that were taught there were diminished by the crappy architecture and cheapo interiors. I hated working there. The only cool part was that there is a little crow's nest room on the roof, and that was where the history grad students' offices were for a year. We had the neatest views from there.

[Myomi]

You guys are missing the worst part about Burdine. The exterior and interior facades are normal academic blah. The classroom designs themselves though...wow, who came up with that disaster. For those of you that have taken a class in one of Burdines first floor north east side classrooms, you know what I am taking about. They are designed like stadiums seating, except the steps are enormous. Each row of seats is like 2-3 feet below the last one. When you couple that with the fact that each row is only 4-5 feet wide, you can see how steep the classroom actually is. The professor ends up feeling so far away. Now, most medium size classrooms (~50 people at UT) already feel impersonal. But the way this is set up makes the professor feel and sound like he is in a classroom meant for 200-300. And acoustics...man I don't know what they did in the days before every room had a wireless mic. The rooms are complete failures on what they are designed to do. They actually make taking a class there harder.

On what the future of Burdine is, I hear that they are going to wait till they finish most of their current construction plans, especially in regards to the natural sciences buildings. Then they are going to demolish it and build phase II of the Biomedical Engineering Building. But that is 10-12 years from now. The current plan is exactly what you said. To use it as a holding building while other buildings have constructions going on.

As for the communications building going vacant...that's not going to happen. It's a academic building first...ACL is a distant second (if that). That building is in constant use for the School of Communication. With the new building being built, its going to be a while before that building is demolished and rebuilt. It would be awesome if they did (it is quite an imposing structure on Guadalupe), but that seems like it would be in the long term future.

[breathesgelatin]

Originally Posted by Myomi

You guys are missing the worst part about Burdine. The exterior and interior facades are normal academic blah. The classroom designs themselves though...wow, who came up with that disaster. For those of you that have taken a class in one of Burdines first floor north east side classrooms, you know what I am taking about. They are designed like stadiums seating, except the steps are enormous. Each row of seats is like 2-3 feet below the last one. When you couple that with the fact that each row is only 4-5 feet wide, you can see how steep the classroom actually is. The professor ends up feeling so far away. Now, most medium size classrooms (~50 people at UT) already feel impersonal. But the way this is set up makes the professor feel and sound like he is in a classroom meant for 200-300. And acoustics...man I don't know what they did in the days before every room had a wireless mic. The rooms are complete failures on what they are designed to do. They actually make taking a class there harder.

Yup, I have taught class in those rooms. AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL, AWFUL.

Good to see that my word on the street matches up with yours.

[Samwill89]

Must be a slow news weekend =).

I am also a UT student in the Architecture school. I used to live in the dorm adjacent to the site of the future home of the Journalism school (Whitis Court) and I am glad to see it go. I don't have much of an opinion of Burdine since I have never seen it and I agree with the other opinions of CMB though I wouldn't mind if it stayed. I love the proportions of that building.

[KevinFromTexas]

11/2

From around my neighborhood.








Nice big view.


From the Travis County Expo Center




From Texas 71.




The new Mueller water tower.

[KevinFromTexas]

Does anyone know what this white tower crane is working on?

Or is that even a tower crane? See it, to the right of the Embassy Suites

[austin242]

Look At the NEW RENDERS for 21C
http://www.21cmuseumhotel.com/futureprojects/austin/austin.aspx

[Mopacs]

Originally Posted by KevinFromTexas

Does anyone know what this white tower crane is working on?

Or is that even a tower crane? See it, to the right of the Embassy Suites

I believe that is the building going up on the DPS HQ campus along Koenig at Guadalupe (east side of the complex). I brought this up a few weeks ago, but no one was sure of the type of building. There is a white tower crane, and it is now up to the 3rd floor.

BTW, great photos! Love the view from the Expo center especially.