Quote:
Originally Posted by LouisVanDerWright
^^^ I disagree. I think educational buildings get a pass on that as well in order to help create a "campus feel". Also, they can't exactly put retail on the first floor because of the noise concerns being right below classrooms. So what would you propose? Either classroom windows right up against the street (no good, who wants that distraction and people looking right into the room as they pass) or a blank wall of some sort at street level?
I like the potential here to create a kind of "mini campus" between the old (which is becoming a HS) and new buildings here.
|
Put communal spaces on the ground; the building needs a cafeteria, study lounges, student commons, etc. Classrooms can be on upper floors. I'm not saying they shouldn't build green space, but it should be in the form of courtyards or plazas along the street, not some shapeless, useless green strip around the perimeter. Let the buildings define space instead of existing as objects.
The new Rush Hospital does a great job of balancing, with a rectangular base and a free-form tower, and several nice outdoor spaces that can actually be used when the weather's nice.
The students here are almost entirely commuter students that are working jobs or taking care of families when they're not in class. They won't be lounging around the campus studying in the grass like undergrads at the U of C.