" 0 0 0 0 0 " .0 PHOTOS BY ANGELA CESERE AND STEVEN TAI/Daily ABOVE: Students walk the four-story spiral staircase at the new Computer Science building. RIGHT: North Campus houses the schools of Art and Design, Architecture and Urban Planning, Engineering and Music. BOTTOM: The botanical hallway of the EECS n 1950, the Board of Regents purchased a few hundred acres of land located north of the Huron River near the Medical Campus. The land, full of hickory and oak trees, was primarily used for farming. Located in the Huron River Valley, Native American tribes often crossed through in their travels. There was no immediate use for the land; the University just wanted it in case they were look- ing to expand. After all, once World War II ended, government money was constantly pumped into new engineering research and a growing student body was overflowing on Central Campus. Eventually, the demand for more research facilities grew too large, married stu- dents needed a place to live, and enrollment had increased to the point that the University began planning to possibly accommodate more than 100,000 students. The land was put to use, and North Campus building. oratory in 1951, then the Phoenix Laboratory in 1955, and so on. Even though the buildings have been there for more than 50 years, North Campus has not always been a haven for "engin- erds" - the slang term used to describe engineering students. In fact, the College of Engineer- ing didn't even complete the move from Central"Campus until 1986. The move ended up happen- ing slightly ahead of schedule, according to James Duderstadt, former University president and Engineering dean. In his book, "On the Move: A Personal His- tory of Michigan Engineering," Duderstadt tells the story of going for a run on Christmas morning in 1981 and learning that the econom- ics building had been burned to the ground by an arsonist. The econom- ics department had to relocate, and since the College of Engineering was planning on moving anyway, the problem was solved. When the college made its move, it joined the School of Music - which, in 19644, was the first school to travel north, settling into a building designed by Saarinen himself - and the School of Architecture and Art. When considering different aspects of constructing new buildings on North Campus, many factors are taken into consideration. According to Uni- versity planner Sue Gott, every project is taken on a case-by-case basis. "We look at the nature of any project and understand what the siting require- ments for any project are," she said. Those requirements include plac- ing units in close proximity to pro- mote more interaction between faculty and students, matching up needed sizes to available sites and maximizing effi- ciency with regards to entry points and materials. "Every project may have some unique principles that respond to either the particular site ... or the program and how the program needs to be reflected,"Gott says. The 1984 North Campus Planning Study, the report suggested that North Campus buildings gen- erally be low-profile and fit in with the east-west grid of the original Saarinen plan. Buildings should also try to mesh with the existing land and vegeta- tion, whose slopes and contours are a result of gla- ciers moving through the Huron River Valley area millions of years ago. "The challenge is to build on current developable sites so we protect the important natural features," Gott says. North Campus Redux Project n 2002, Doug Kelbaugh, Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning dean, along with the other deans on North Cam- pus, wanted to conduct another study regard- ing North Campus. This, of course, had been done before, but this time, students would be more prominently involved. "I think the North Campus deans were frustrated that the University had not developed a compre- hensive plan for North Campus in many years," Kelbaugh says, sitting in his office in the Art and Architecture Building, across the street from Pier- pont Commons. Wearing a dark blue shirt, gray suit and reading glasses, Kelbaugh sits across from a wall where three large campus maps - which he references frequently - dominate the room. After Kelbaugh proposed the plan, then-interim University President B. Joseph White agreed to fund it, earmarking about $40,000 for the study. In the summer months of 2002, the deans met with University officials and the development firm Venturi Scott Brown and Associates. It was about this same time that Kelbaugh asked the Masters of Urban Design Studio to work with students - who "have a fresh vision" as Kelbaugh says - to pro- pose a few alternative plans for the campus. Kit Krankel-McCullough, a lecturer in urban design, taught the seven-week spring course that worked on this project. Three teams of students each created their own vision of what they felt North Campus should be. As the moderator, Kran- kel-McCullough helped students organize the prob- lems. I" ' . } More than 50 years later, North Campus, which has grown to include more than 800 acres of land, is still trying to shake the stigma of being the home to everything that doesn't fit on Central Campus. North Campus has a Diag, a bell tower and a recreation building, but they are perceived as secondary to their Central Campus counterparts. The Northwood apart- ments serve as dorms when Central Campus runs out of space. The best concert venues and restaurants require at least a 10-minute bus ride, and most sporting events are two campuses away. The twisting roads are more tailored for automobiles than pedestrians, creating an isolated, spread-out feel. Still, the land has a natural beauty and a unique atmosphere. Students who live on North Cam- pus enjoy the tranquility of the area and the open spaces that are its trademark. Where some see nothing, others enjoy the natu- rally sloping landscape. "You don't have the same hustle and bustle as on Central," said Michael Swanigan, director of Pierpont Com- mons, the North Campus equivalent to the Michigan Union or Michigan League. "The ambiance is a lot more relaxing - a lot more laid-back." The University - as.it does with Central and South Campus - has constantly evaluated the land and offered solutions for its future. Now, the wheels are in motion to make North Cam- pus the destination spot that University mem- bers believe it can be. The history ince there were no original intended uses for the land, the University needed a plan. It turned to Eero Saarinen, an esteemed Finnish architect. In a piece-by-piece fashion, the land began to develop. First came the Mortimer Cooley Electronics Lab- t,,,.