<p>About time (seems like the Lyrica $$ at work). </p>
<p>Northwestern</a> University announces new $90 million music building -- chicagotribune.com</p>
<p>90 million on a new music building? What good is a new music building for us non-music majors.
Frankly I wish they would spend that money improving the interior design and furnishing in buildings like tech, the library and Norris. New walls and chairs in the food court could make Norris look a lot better. Or plant more evergreen treees on campus so it doesn't look so barren in the winter.</p>
<p>gd016,</p>
<p>That's long overdue. The music building looked old already even when I was there 10 years ago. When I saw it, my first impression was that it must be the most neglected building on campus. A top music school isn't supposed to look like this. At least the Norris center is still pretty well-kept and doesn't look like it's about to collapse anytime soon. :)</p>
<p>Yeah I know how old MAB looks; in fact, it looks even worse inside, I have a cappella practice in there. But at the very least, from outside, it looks like it has a lot of history and tradition, whereas Norris just seems like an unsuccessful attempt at modern, neo brutalist architecture that looks like a state penitentiary with ridiculously 90s interior designing. It's too bad, really, because it's located on the best spot on campus with a gorgeous view of the lake and everything, but it's such an eyesore from outside and inside as is our main library. Like you said, it definitely doesn't seem like it's going to collapse anytime soon, which is a shame because I think we'd all like to see Norris torn down and have a better looking student center built right where Norris is right now.</p>
<p>Personally, as a student here, I wish Northwestern would put some more money towards improving the aesthetics of the campus. Our location is perfect with the lake and a hip downtown area adjacent to campus, architecturally we have a good amount of gothic and modern (but not necessarily appealing) buildings spread around campus, but the insides of our facilities are poorly maintained and under-furnished, especially tech and annenberg, and to an extent, south campus halls like Kresge and Harris. In my opinion, they could benefit so many more students and faculty by organizing some sort of campus improvement campaign as opposed to building a new MAB. And hiring some people to make a new website.</p>
<p>But that's just me... :(</p>
<p>I really don't see your point about Annenberg- it looks sparkling and new inside, and the lecture halls are great. Only thing I wish there was more of was
a) More natural light piped in via optical channeling
b) Clocks on the walls. Seriously, the clock behind the students is fine, but how about one above the professor or on the side walls?</p>
<p>gd016,
i took classes at ucla/berkeley before and the interior of tech looks pretty good compared to few places i've been to in ucla/berkeley. the interior of where berkeley's environmental engineering department is looked shockingly outdated (i was accepted to their ms program there and went to visit). i also went to ucla's library that undergrads go to (at least that's what I was told; they have quite a few departmental libraries) and NU library looks modern compared to theirs. even at a rich school like stanford, the interior of the engineering building is worse than mccormick. they do have a very modern looking EE and comp sci buildings in the engineering quad, however. i think most schools have a mixture of old and new or well-furnished and under-furnished buildings; so the problem you are experiencing isn't unique. it may be that the adminstration is incompetent and not getting the job done. but it's also possible that most schools just can't really keep up the way you expect them to without being fiscally irresponsible.</p>
<p>is it just me or is northwestern constantly spending the most money where they need to least?</p>
<p>90 million on a school that only has around 400 students is ridiculous, in my opinion. I have class at tech all afternoon, so I usually grab lunch at the tech express cafe, but there's never a place to just sit down and eat my lunch because 1) tech express is puny compared to the size of tech and the number of students it accomodates, 2) and not just tech express but tech in general seriously lacks seating and rest areas where students can just sit down and wait for a class except for the sofas in front of each LR which are usually never available either. I have frequently had to eat my lunch standing up, and I've seen many students having to do this.</p>
<p>But I understand tech being that way, it is tech after all. But Norris can seriously use some improvement seeing as it is the student center of Northwestern. I just feel like Northwestern could be using its abundant resources on more important things like improving the student center and creating a more appealing and organized website. I'm not really looking forward to more construction on campus either. Will it ever end......</p>
<p>^hehe...when i was there, tech got only venting machines. i didn't have the problem with eating my lunch standing up cos i couldn't get my lunch there anyway. ;) so things did improve, as evidence by the fact that you could get lunch now; but it may happen just too slowly.</p>
<p>i agree that the norris center can use some improvement. i'd like them to move the gaming facility to somewhere at the upper level; this would create a more lively scene by making the fun stuff more visible.</p>
<p>I'm a bit confused. Why is the article talking about the building being a mile away from everything else? Aren't they just talking about the big white building that's a bit west of the Shepard / Rebecca Crown area, and south of the Alpha Phi-to-Willard part of the sorority quads? Are they saying it's a mile from Regenstein?</p>
<p>The mile must refer to the distance for someone tramping from far north campus (say, Elder Hall) to far south at the MAB. </p>
<p>I agree $90 million sounds like a lot of money but this will be a lot of building. It'll house virtually everything for the 640 students and 125 faculty in the music school (classrooms, offices, rehearsal and storage spaces) and will also be providing both a theater and new concert space for the entire campus community. The money will also help pay for the exterior work to create a new music and arts green space. Remember that the new building will be a replacement allowing the old MAB to be rehabbed and utilized by other university departments.</p>
<p>This project has been long overdue and, as any music student can tell you, has been the one weak link in what otherwise stands to be one of the finest, if not the finest, academic music program in the country.</p>
<p>Hopefully this, along with the new Silverman chem/engineering building, is just the beginning of facility upgrading made possible by the Lyrica supra billion dollar windfall.</p>
<p>Thanks, Bala. It still sounds overly dramatic to me ... Elder kids take classes at Fisk and Willard kids take classes at Tech, so I wasn't sure what the big deal was over the location of the Music Building. The way the article read, I was thinking, "Huh? Is there some building in downtown Evanston I don't know about?"<br>
A non-music major, but I agree it's long overdue and very exciting.</p>
<p>What should be next, in everyone's opinion? Norris ... what else?</p>
<p>What about better / nicer '/ more inviting communal lounges in the dorms? Bobb-McC in particular is just such a pit; it doesn't show the university well, IMO.</p>
<p>
[quote]
What should be next, in everyone's opinion? Norris ... what else?
[/quote]
</p>
<p>hmm</p>
<p>norris
restaurant/cafe development (especially on north campus)
interior work in dorms (bobb, elder, etc)
moving the double-level parking lot on south campus to somewhere... not on prime real estate
retro-gothicize the library</p>
<p>
[quote]
retro-gothicize the library
[/quote]
If only that were possible sigh. I try to find comfort in knowing that we're not the only victim of fugly neo-brutalist architecture. It must be even worse for UChicago seeing as basically the rest of their campus is all beautiful gothic architecture.</p>
<p>
[quote]
moving the double-level parking lot on south campus to somewhere... not on prime real estate
[/quote]
What parking lot are you talking about? The one behind Allison? I don't see how that's prime real estate, and it's pretty much hidden to everyone which is great because no one wants to see a huge parking lot on a beautiful college campus. If we're moving a parking lot, I think it should be the one in front of Garrett. It ruins the view of the nice architecture and takes up way too much space on our main campus (area between Sheridan to the lake).</p>
<p>the double level parking lot next to pick staiger. i agree, it could be used for better use than that, it's got a nice lakeview...</p>
<p>What are some examples of really good student centers, if Norris were to be rebuilt / revamped? What do the good ones feel like? It's hard when Norris is one's only base of comparison!</p>
<p>the frist student center at princeton was pretty sweet when i visited.</p>
<p>^based on the video, I am not sure how that's much better than Norris. It feels kinda uptight and I don't like how it seems very enclosed. It feels like an academic building (it even got a lecture hall..yike!). Norris dinning area seems to be better than their "food gallery", which reminds me of dining area in prison (what I saw on TV, I mean). I'd like the whole place with more windows. </p>
<p>If this make you guys feel better, Stanford's student center (Tresidder) is 10x worse than Norris. ;)</p>
<p>So any other example of a real good student center? :)</p>
<p>I think wisconsin has a good one: Wisconsin</a> Union: Experiences for a Lifetime</p>
<p>The Ohio State Student Center is widely regarded as one of the best in the country. I visited it and it really felt like a shopping mall. Massive food court, long open hallways, multiple bookstores, a restaurant, and the traditional student center offices. I don't have a photo, but it's a great center. Of course, it serves a student body that is significantly larger than NU's.</p>