Any Rumors of further changes to campus?

[jack63]

<p>I've been impressed with Carleton's recent additions in the last decade. The Recreation center, Language and Dining Center, Weitz Center for Creativity, and additional dorms (Memorial Hall and Cassat Hall) all add to the campus and make it a far more attractive campus than it ever was when I was there. Any rumors on what is next?</p>

<p>Things I've wondered about....</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Since they have new dorms, will they ever tear down the dorms like Musser or Myers. I never found these dorms particularly attractive or thought they fit well.</p></li>
<li><p>Boliou was built in the 1950's and they should have sufficient space for art in the Weitz Center. Will they tear down Boliou and replace it with some type of building than may add to the campus better?</p></li>
<li><p>I've always struggled as to why Carleton needs a functional smokestack. I've had friends see only the smokestack at Carleton as the drove by, and they never wanted to see the rest of the rather attractive campus. It could always be torn down. </p></li>
<li><p>The front of Olin just looks bad as far as I'm concerned. It looks like cross between a jail and a psych ward.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Changes at any of these locations would be a major improvement. Just curious about what is next.</p>

[Youdon_tsay]

<p>Jack, do you “like” Carleton on FB? Just yesterday, I think, they posted pics of all the construction going on.</p>

[mflevity]

<p>Well, they just gutted Evans and it is supposed to be completely renovated in time for students to move in at the start of winter term (more info here: [Carleton</a> College: Facilities Management: Evans Hall Renovation](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/projects/evans_hall/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/projects/evans_hall/)). Besides the column structure that nobody liked, Evans had code issues, accessibility issues, and outdated electrical and heating systems.</p>

<p>Here’s a list of planned '12-'13 projects: [Carleton</a> College: Facilities Management: Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Projects](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/projects/Budget2012_Projects/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/projects/Budget2012_Projects/)</p>

<p>I’m not sure if this link will work, but I think this is the album that Youdon’tsay is talking about: <a href=“https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.453467238007241.100874.115441435143158&type=1[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.453467238007241.100874.115441435143158&type=1&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>If that doesn’t work, the page is called Carleton Update.</p>

[jack63]

<p>That’s good about Evans. It is really attractive from the outside, but the inside was a mess. </p>

<p>Anything “not official” that is being discussed or thrown around (i.e. rumors). Thanks for the 2012-2013 projects link. I’m kinda interested in major stuff a few years into the future though. </p>

<p>I have a facebook page, but I certainly don’t “like” it or like to use it. The unofficial and relatively anonymous can be far more interesting than facebook…I think.</p>

<p>Even editorials in the Carletonian that I or others don’t know about would be interesting that potentially discussed major future building projects.</p>

[mflevity]

<p>There were plans for constructing the William H. Sallmon Administrative Building a few years ago, but I guess they fell through…</p>

<p>[Carleton</a> College: Office of the President: Sallmon Building Announcement](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/president/news/sallmon/?item_id=618999]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/president/news/sallmon/?item_id=618999)</p>

[jack63]

<p>Yes…right…clever for April 1st. mflevity, I bet you were one of the ones who believed it right away too :P.</p>

[jack63]

<p>Seriously though, they’ve built two new dorms (Memorial Hall and Cassat Hall) and Evans will be up and running soon enough. What are they going to do with the additional dormitory space? Are the increasing enrollment? Are other dorms no longer going to be dorms? Are they going to tear present dorms down?</p>

[mflevity]

<p>Interesting…I believe the only people who sent President Oden angry emails were a couple of alumni. :)</p>

<p>And as far as I know, the two new dorms were built because the dorms were overcrowded. Once Evans is open again, we should have the right amount of space, but not enough extra space to get rid of any existing dorms.</p>

[jack63]

<p>hmm…Have they increased enrollment over the last decade? I always thought it was at about ~500 students per class. I remember some freshmen classes that were larger than expected causing doubles to become triples. This happened to me, but I’m surprised that with two additional dorms and the addition of the townhouses, they are “just” meeting their space requirements. I’d think they’d be a hundred rooms over. If they had class sizes hitting ~500, I don’t remember any type of housing limitations.</p>

<p>Are they making a greater push to keep seniors on campus? As I remember, a number of my senior classmates lived off campus when I was there.</p>

[Youdon_tsay]

<p>When ds toured (spring 2010), I was told that they were giving the Northfield option to fewer seniors. I have no idea why that number was before or is now. The student enrollment has gone up slightly from what I can tell, from just fewer than 2,000 to just more than 2,000. Also, ds tells me that not every room is full on purpose.</p>

[jack63]

<p>

When ds toured (spring 2010), I was told that they were giving the Northfield option to fewer seniors.

</p>

<p>This makes sense, and I think it is a good thing for them to be in the Carleton owned townhouses instead of a privately owned houses. They’re still part of the Carleton community and the school can diffuse and prevent bad situations from happen(A major party is far less likely to be broken up by police, etc). Also, as I remember, some of the landlords really used to mess with the seniors living off campus. Repairs weren’t made on the houses they were staying in, proper telephone and internet lines were not installed, etc.</p>

<p>

Also, ds tells me that not every room is full on purpose.

</p>

<p>Sounds fishy to me…They will be getting Evans back, and they should have loads of unused space. They are either increasing enrollment, planning to do a major renovation on another dorm, or tearing a dorm down. I surprised nobody has discussed this. I just have trouble believing they will “just” be meeting housing requirements with two additional dorms and the townhouses. I surprised this has never been talked about in the Carletonian or by the administration. </p>

<p>It is interesting to understand what buildings might be changed. A link to the list of buildings and the date when they were built is below:</p>

<p>[Carleton</a> College: Facilities Management: Historical Building Information](<a href=“http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/property/historical/]Carleton”>http://apps.carleton.edu/campus/facilities/property/historical/)</p>

[mflevity]

<p>They also did a lot of remodeling in that weird connecting section between the Complex dorms (the one with ~3 doors you had to swipe your card to get through) last year.</p>

<p>To be honest, I’ve never spoken with anyone who seemed particularly concerned with the housing situation; I was a freshman the first year Cassat and Memorial existed. Let us know if you hear something, but I doubt there’s anything “fishy” going on.</p>

[jack63]

<p>I briefly dug thru some old Carletonians and found some interesting articles related to this thread. The first is below discussing the two new dorms built Cassat and Memorial:</p>

<p>[The</a> Carletonian: 2008 Winter Issue 2](<a href=“The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877”>The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877)</p>

<p>Some interesting things from this article</p>

<p>They considered replacing Cowling…</p>

<p>

The final spot for the two state-of the-art dorms is the intersection of Maple and First Street across from the LDC. This location trumped other options, such as the area behind Goodhue or as a replacement to the Cowling Gymnasium.

</p>

<p>I kinda liked Cowling, but it is interesting to understand that tearing down a Carleton building is discussed sometimes and not completely out of the question</p>

<p>Also, there seems to be negative sentiment about Musser and Myers. I’m not alone in this…</p>

<p>

Students, the administration, and anyone with decent vision will delight in how little these new dorms will resemble the austere designs of Musser and Myers.

</p>

<p>This article also discusses the housing shortage at Carleton that these two dorms(now built) hoped to fix</p>

<p>

The idea, according to Lamppa, is to “move approximately 210 beds and unpack Watson Hall and turn those cramped triples back into doubles, and in the long term, move students out of Laird Stadium and Faculty Club.” Another hope is to move seniors, who mostly live off campus or on the west side, to the predominantly underclassmen-inhabited east side of campus.

</p>

<p>Perhaps there is not enough space for a dorm tear down. I’m still surprised Carleton is “just” meeting its housing requirements with these two new dorms.</p>

<p>Another interesting article discussed the Wietz Center and how faculty are moving into it.</p>

<p>[The</a> Carletonian: 2011 Fall Issue 1](<a href=“The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877”>The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877)</p>

<p>From the article…</p>

<p>

The WCC plans to be the main center for the visual, media, and performing arts at Carleton. The Center will be the headquarters of the Cinema and Media Studies and the Theater and Dance departments. Art History and Studio Art will also share the space, though their respective departments’ headquarters will remain in Boliou.

</p>

<p>I’d think Boliou would be a prime target for a complete or partial tear down. This movement of faculty could be the start of this. </p>

<p>The reason I’m going on and on about these changes is that Carleton has been “build build build” for the last decade or so. It would be nice if alumni, students, faculty and administration stepped back and thought about how well the present developed space is being utilized. I love some of the old buildings(Willis Hall, Goodsell Observatory, Sayles-Hill, Skinner Memorial Chapel, Gould Library,etc), but other buildings leave a lot to be desired(Boliou, Musser, the smokestack). It would be nice to reconsider some of these buildings that don’t necessarily fit rather than building something new.</p>

[jack63]

<p>I was pleased to read the recent Carletonian about a potentially new science or music building.</p>

<p>[The</a> Carletonian: 2013 Fall Issue 1](<a href=“The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877”>The Carletonian – Carleton College's student newspaper since 1877)</p>

<p>An interesting quote from the article…</p>

<p>

In practice, that means renovating a number of the existing science buildings to accommodate more than one department. One scenario even envisions the demolition of every existing science buildings and the construction of a new science center to house all of them.

</p>

<p>As I said in the beginning of this thread, Olin looks like a cross between a jail and pysch ward. It also sorta has that feel inside too. I’m with them when they say that the space doesn’t foster interaction between faculty. I vote for demolition!..I actually spent time in the building too.</p>

<p>Another quote…</p>

<p>

Though the duo’s ideas for music were less concrete, demolition of the existing Music and Drama Center seems imminent.

</p>

<p>While I saw some good plays in the drama center that were great entertainment on a Friday night, the building itself added nothing.</p>

<p>I’m glad Carleton is considering demolishing certain buildings and just making better use of its space rather than “build build build”.</p>

[jack63]

The Carleton voice had a really excellent article about the buildings on campus…

https://apps.carleton.edu/voice/?story_id=1244717&issue_id=1198761

I really enjoy articles about the different buildings on Carleton’s campus and their history. It talked about current problems with both Olin and the West Gym.

I did not realize some of my criticisms of Olin I mentioned in this thread were literally decades old.

The article focused on the architect Minoru Yamasaki…a previous Carleton grad. I will say that the majority of buildings he built were good. I like Goodhue, Watson, Cowling, and the West gym. The issue with the West Gym is that it can be flooded, otherwise it is a very attractive building.

Olin on the other hand…

[jack63]

Correction: Minoru Yamasaki was the father of a Carleton graduate and received a honary doctor from Carleton rather than graduating from Carleton.

[Impero]

I can agree to most of the things you say, but I’m quite fond of Boliou.

[Impero]

jack63: I get the same feeling from Olin. I’ve taken three physics courses and find the building sterile, dark and cold (especially in the hallway. It’s just terribly lit) and not at all inviting. The few classrooms I’ve been in had very uncomfortable chairs, and I hate the high chairs in the labs- not comfortable to work on. Reminded me of a hospital or a psych ward. I’ve gotten very friendly with some physics majors though, probably because physics gives so much work, and we’re all in such a dreary place! Bonding through adversity and all CMC, by contrast, is my favorite building on campus (and not just because I’m a math major). I love the modern but tasteful decor, the modest size, the math skill center’s warmth (and the bed under the stairwell! I’ve napped there many times), the privacy and coziness of the comps room, and the fact that the seats are actually comfortable in classrooms. The best part about the CMC is how well lit it is, particularly how bright the skills center is (although I admit sometimes it goes overboard). Everything about the CMC just makes you want to linger.