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The February visit by the University's master plan consultants all but completed recommendations for the southwest part of campus and started work on the southeast section.
The section-by-section approach by the consultants from the architectural firm of Ayers Saint Gross is known as the "precinct phase" of the master plan. The precinct phase enables the architects to take their general "concept plan" for the campus -- something they refer to as a "rough sketch" -- and make more detailed examinations and recommendations.
During meetings held Feb. 23-25, the architects fine-tuned their proposal for Precinct 1, the section of campus between Cameron Avenue and Mason Farm Road and west of Kenan Stadium. They also started work in Precinct 4, which addresses the area south of South Road and east of Kenan Stadium and the new Health Affairs parking decks.
Most of the latest round of meetings was devoted to Precinct 1. The fine-tuning took the form of the architects showing their latest ideas to teams of University faculty, staff and students, who then reacted to those ideas.
Overall, the reaction from faculty, staff and students was positive.
Greg Forest, associate dean for the sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences, said he liked the proposal for Precinct 1, a part of campus that houses most of the science programs.
"I am pleased with the proposals I saw," Forest said. "The plans accommodate the programmatic priorities we've been working on in the sciences."
The positive reactions weren't surprising given that the consultants' proposals were developed through numerous meetings with the Carolina community. Each round of meetings allowed Ayers Saint Gross to incorporate the ideas University employees and students liked and discard ideas they didn't like.
"We came here last month and got a lot of feedback," said Adam Gross, the partner leading the master plan consultants. "People told us `We like that, that and that, but we don't like that, that and that,' which is exactly what we needed to hear."
Ideas for Precinct 1
The key recommendations Ayers Saint Gross made for Precinct 1 as of the end of February included:
n Creating a "science quad" around the parking lot between Venable and Phillips halls. This quad would include a new building at the south edge of Phillips Hall, extending Sitterson Hall south and tearing down Venable Hall to make way for an underground parking garage with a larger building on top. The current parking lot would become a grass-covered quad.
n Building another science quad over what now is the Bell Tower parking lot. This plan would include building a parking deck over this sunken area and then constructing buildings around and atop the parking deck.
n Adding shorter buildings around the eastern side (facing Wilson Library) of Kenan Laboratories. This not only adds more space, but would make Kenan Laboratories look less imposing and severe, Gross said.
n Bridging South Road by connecting the proposed buildings around Kenan Laboratories to the science quad proposed for the Bell Tower parking lot. Gross said this bridge could start as a patio among the buildings around Kenan labs and connect to another high point across the road created by the new science quad.
n Realigning the intersection of South Road and South Columbia Street to get rid of the right-turn-only lanes. The changes would make the intersection safer and easier to use for pedestrians.
Since patio-bridges and buildings atop parking decks would be new at Carolina, Gross showed slides of how other campuses have built similar facilities. Examples included a bridge at the University of Virginia and an underground parking garage with a grassy field on top at Catholic University.
Gross also showed slides of large buildings designed in ways so as not to overwhelm surrounding buildings. A brick chemistry building at the University of Delaware showed that Carolina could replace Venable Hall with a five-story science building that complemented existing buildings.
One area of Precinct 1 where more detailed work remains to be done is around UNC Hospitals, where the consultants hope to mesh their goal of creating routes to walk or bike through the hospital-medical school-health affairs complex with the hospital's long-range expansion plans.
The next precinct
The work on Precinct 4 started just as the Precinct 1 effort began, with the consultants joining about two dozen University employees for a tour of the area.
Given the large size of the precinct, the tour was done by bus and on foot. Highlights of the tour included the Baity property off Mason Farm Road, the Odum Village area, open space around Ehringhaus residence hall and the law school.
The Baity property is where Ayers Saint Gross proposes adding a new entrance to the University to relieve traffic on Manning Drive.
The firm already is working with Carolina officials to pick sites for new residence halls around Ehringhaus dorm to accommodate the expected enrollment increase in the next few years.
Gross said that the tour convinced him that the proposals for the area could work: "It's very doable and could be very beautiful." The planners, and University officials, also presented an update on the master plan to the Chapel Hill Town Council at a public forum held Feb. 23. More than 100 people attended the forum, wherein Gross explained the master plan process, displayed the concept plan and answered questions from the audience.
The overriding concern expressed by Chapel Hill residents was the impact of campus growth on the town's housing market. Gross answered that the early work in Precinct 4 focused on increasing residence hall space to accommodate the expected enrollment growth.
(To keep up with the evolving master plan, employees can check the web site at http://www.unc.edu/depts/design/plan)
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