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T HE MIC H IGA N DA ILY

Sunday Anral 29 1 95E

Pge Sx THE MICHIGAN1DAILY

I

CLA

IN DEFENSE OF CAMPUS
"ARCHITECTURAL PATCHWORK"
By DAVID TARR should learn how they performed
and RICHARD TAUB in the original situation."
pDaiy staff writers It i also significant that some
of the older buildings have various
ONCE UPON A TIME the Board types of historic importance. Such
of Regents were interviewing a building as Romance Language
building material suppliers before represents an early experiment
construction of a new edifice. The with structural steel whereas the
kM"first offered the standard red brick. Clements Library is a fine adap-
He was rejected. The second of- tation of the Italian Rennaissance
fered a more unusual orange brick. style. Fry noted that it was an
He was rejected. The third of- "architectural gem in its time."
i fered the finest granite building
blocks imported from France. He BUT THERE are other reasons
was rejected. for keeping the older struc-
The last hopeful was a little tures, and one of these is the
bit embarrassed, His brick was -volutionary concept of architec-
of the most unusual nature and ture--the ability of buildings to
had never been seen anywhere in suggest campus history. Prof.
the orld Hewas cceped. Eisenberg explains "The tradition
g, the wrd. He was accepted.
hile the validity this anec- dhistory of a university are
dole has on occasion been sues- very important to preserve, and a
oneite h xsmnoccaioeheenerae certain number of older buildings
% ~tioned, it exemplifies the general, prform this function. A variety
campus attitude toward the "di- ofarchicture ion a rey
versity" of University architec-c t of architeture on campus repre-
sents the progress of the school
ture. since its formation. The Law Quad
Students frequently wonder at could be used as an example. It is
the planning, or lack of planning, an excellent cxample of Collegia
of building designs around here. Gothic architecture; symbolic of
Sleek Haven and Mason Halls ex- universities for centuries and re-
tend from the back ofa ponderous tining that romantic spirit of
Angell; aluminum paneling shat- looking to the past."
rs the stilLnes u of the predomi- Nor is this feeling of evolution-
onL tat rete ary architecture an isolated one.
"big orange palace" on State Street Prof. Frank L. Huntley of the
-Daily-JohnF Irtzel to the "somewhat older" design of English department agrees that
RENTS LIBRARY"- "AN ARCHITECTURAL GEM IN ITS TIME" Romance Language, the Universi- the University's history and tra-
ty seems to provide an architectu- dition is preserved in this manner.
ral patchwork. "We must live and work with the
past, present and future."
OWEVER, the Univerity has
W t e There are also strictly economic
invested large sums of money reasons why the University can't
to provide these buildings and is tear down old buildings. In oth-
a"planng to spend one hundred and er words, they don't have enough
eleven million dollars more in the money.
py ssnext five years for expansion. No "The University just isn't in a
group, no matter how affluent, can position to demolish many of the
afford to plunk down such large older structures. If one group
quantities of cash without a great moves out, it frequently happens
deal of forethought, and the Uni- that someone else will move in"
versity has spent a great deal of John McKevitt, assistant to the
time evolving an architectural vice-president, said.
policy.
-- tThis is, in the words of Lynn HOWEVER, it is fairly obvious
W. Fry, Supervising Architect, "to itthat the new modernistic
use the style of architecture per- buildings are highly superior. The
t tinent to the times and problems. experts tell us that there are at
We're not interested in establish- least three good reasons for this-
ing a set style but rather in em- Function, Aesthetics, and Economy.
ploying the best ideas and con- The first, functionalism, aims
cepts of modern building." toward the most profitable use of
Fry explained this further. the space available. But this must
"You'd certainly want a doctor be done within the limits of the
to use the most up to date methods. other two, according to Prof. Ralph
Well, it's the same way with ar- W. Hammett of the architecture
chitects." school.
In addition to planhing for fu- "The Business Administration
-Courtesy oft Uversi y ses service ture buildings, the University has building is one of the best for
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING-TURNED WRONG WAY? already developed an architectur- function on campus with its lay-
al pattern much more substantial out of class rooms, lecture halls
and desirable than many people and faculty offices," explained
think Prof. Hammett. "Another build-
ing that has impressed me with
OBVIOUSLY, some of the older its functionalism is the Union.
buildings will not come up to .Built in World War I for about
the current standards of modern 4000 students it has been enlarged
architecture, but many were out- and still looks good and its cen-
standing examples for their era. tral section (the old building) still
Prof. Marvin J. Eisenberg of the works perfectly."
gne arts department, observed that In some of these respects, the
"not all these older buildings are Law Quad is one of the poorer
due the negative criticisms they buildings on campus, Prof. Sanders
receive. For instance, the Econo- indicated. "Collegiate Gothic was
mics building is a good example designed for a climate like Great
of architecture in general plan Britain's. There is considerably
and craftsmanship and, whether more snow and ice here than in
people believe it or not, the Ro- England and the pressure caused
mane Language is one of the by the expansion of freezing wat-
most beautifully designed and one er continually injures the metal
'of the finest examples of archi- spouts and coverings on the roof.
tecture on campus. These build- One sheet metal company works

ings have simply become lost next about six months a year just to
to Angell, Haven, Alumni Memorial keep them in shape."
$ and the Library. They are an The aluminum paneling on the
anachronism not because of their addition points up another weak-
quality as architecture but because ness in this type of architecture.
of their failure to meet the needs "It's quite difficult to get the ma-
of a huge, modern University." terials now for such a building.
At any rate, it is difficult to Even if we could locate enough
judge some of the older buildings. stone cutters, they would take
As Prof. Walter B. Sanders, chair- much too long. It's almost impos-
man of the architecture depart- sible to go back to some virtually
ient, explained, "We have to con- medieval process."
e ' .sider the building's purpose in re-
-Courtesy of University News Service lationship to others. They should PROF. HUNTLEY refers to the
ANGELL BALL - MONEY ON THE OUTSIDE not be taken out of context. We principle of functionalism as