Campus Beauty

#26
#26
View attachment 584517

I think it's this one ("Whirlwind of Opportunity"). To me, it looks like someone tacked together some castoff parts from Space Mountain and a carnival ride or two.

Edit: Has anyone crawled into this thing and become stuck? If so, it may actually have a purpose as a holding area for unruly visiting fans (particularly ones who lose their britches in the stadium)...sort of a futuristic version of stocks on the village square.
Thats the one I was referring to
 
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#27
#27
Perhaps I'm in the minority, but I miss Estabrook. A friend that worked on the demolition got me a couple of bricks.
I'm with you. I get all the issues Estabrook had and the Zeanah building is remarkable, but I was sad to see such a historic building go.

I'll always remember my drafting class there during the fall quarter and hearing leaf blowers every Monday being used to blow all the trash from the past game from under the bleachers into the aisles.
 
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#28
#28
The campus lo
I love UT like nobodies business…. But our campus ain’t exactly “wow what a beautiful school”- it’s about as far from that as it gets.

BUT - it looks better than ever, and they are certainly making improvements
The campus looks a lot better than the 90s and even ten yrs ago. It takes time.
 
#29
#29
It's location and topography will always be an aesthetic hindrance, but for a campus which sits on a hillside adjacent to an urban district, and is also landlocked by a river .... UT is a nice campus, which has been significantly improved since I was a student there from 1992-1996.

... and I always appreciated being a college student in an actual town, rather than just living on a campus that had been built in the middle of a cow pasture, like Auburn.
 
#30
#30
The campus lo

The campus looks a lot better than the 90s and even ten yrs ago. It takes time.
And cash. But some of that comes from the students who borrow more and more money which will ultimately be "forgiven" so no prob.
 
#31
#31
Wasn’t sure which board to put this on, but it’s a bye week, so I’ll stick it here.

I took my mom to her first game at Neylsnd since 1996 Saturday. She moved to Colorado in 1999 when she got remarried and has continued to love the Vols. It was also her 74th birthday. We walked all around campus so she could see how much it’s changed. It really has gotten so much better in the last 15 years or so.

But there are two big eyesores on campus: McClung tower/Humanities and the Art & Architecture building (ironically). If those two buildings were leveled and replaced with nice buildings matching the red brick theme, it would do so much to improve the appearance of campus.

I wonder, are there any talks of replacing those buildings? They’re all old and might need updating regardless of how ugly they are, so might as well just demolish and replace.

I’d also like to see something done to Hodges library’s facade, with all the “squares.” Maybe trim them off to match the top of Ayers.


If we are talking about statues, I think one should go up to former UT President Joe Johnson who did so much for the University during his tenure.

Current President Randy Boyd paid homage to Johnson by saying that he was one of the best presidents that UT has ever had.
 
#33
#33
I was there when the statue was installed. All the students thought he was an overweight, middle aged man in a toga. I didn't like it in 1968 and I still don't like it in 2023.

Easy, friend. I’ve always heard that it was the sculptor’s premonition of what John Belushi might look like in the 1970s.
 
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#34
#34
McClung tower and the humanities plaza are leftovers from the days of Morrill Hall and Andy Holt apartments/Presidential Court. Nice to hear it will eventually be renovated. Just leave the Europa Fountain so we can continue to put Mr. Bubble in like we did in the late 70s early 80s
 
#35
#35
McClung tower and the humanities plaza are leftovers from the days of Morrill Hall and Andy Holt apartments/Presidential Court. Nice to hear it will eventually be renovated. Just leave the Europa Fountain so we can continue to put Mr. Bubble in like we did in the late 70s early 80s
Ahh, the good old days. Presidential/Morrill/Andy Holt were relatively new and desirable back in the 70s. I got to sleep in all three of them. Looks like Carrick and Reese are still alive, according to latest Google Maps satellite image. Others are gone. I haven’t been on campus since they were tearing down Stokely.
 
#37
#37
nge McClung tower and the humanities plaza are leftovers from the days of Morrill Hall and Andy Holt apartments/Presidential Court. Nice to hear it will eventually be renovated. Just leave the Europa Fountain so we can continue to put Mr. Bubble in like we did in the late 70s early 80s
Now you're making me feel old. I remember those dorms in the early 80's. You mean they are not there anymore? Change comes but sometimes the drive around campus can be sad because of the changes from yesteryear.
 
#38
#38
I'm with you. I get all the issues Estabrook had and the Zeanah building is remarkable, but I was sad to see such a historic building go.

I'll always remember my drafting class there during the fall quarter and hearing leaf blowers every Monday being used to blow all the trash from the past game from under the bleachers into the aisles.
I "lived" at Estabrook my last year of Architecture, which turned out to the last graduating class in '81. Used to play basketball in the 'atrium' during the winter, sat on the roof overlooking the river in the spring - maybe that's why I graduated with a 2.9999994 (thanks Dr. Fortey). A&A bldg has its merits and though it doesn't 'match' the rest of the campus, there's beauty in that. Overall, the campus is one of the prettiest, most walkable, urban environments for learning around. Kinda nice on Saturdays too.
 
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#39
#39
the faux collegiate gothic bs the school claims as an architectural style is straight up bs, and quiet ugly. they will all age terribly. heck some of the new dorms have fiber cement panels (Hardie) like you see on a house. and lining all the pedestrian paths with 7 story buildings doesn't make a great feel to campus, way too urban of a look.

the architecture building is great. It was designed as a teaching tool, and only stands out because the university decided to go with the faux collegiate gothic style everywhere instead of the places it made sense. it also references some of the leading architects of the time, several of the professors had worked with those architects. If you had a better style across campus that allowed for more flexibility the Architecture Building wouldn't stand out so much as an "eye sore". As I said before it stands out as a great teaching tool, you see exactly what goes into a building, and the overall form shows one of the two ways you deal with context. You can either try to blend in and not stand out, doesn't make sense for a College of Design, or you can be your own thing when the local context doesn't make sense for the purpose of your building. The main weakness of the collegiate gothic is it doesn't scale terribly well, the Architecture Building was one of the largest buildings on campus at the time, and trying to apply an already bad standard just doesn't make sense. and as I keep saying its great for the students learning to design so they don't see one, boring, standard everywhere, its just not conducive. pretty much every major architecture program building is this way, different from the rest.

most of the street scape improvements have been great imo. I am in the same place as Rhett about that statue on Pedestrian Walk, I was there too and it made no sense, "Whirlwind of Opportunity" my butt. its definitely a good thing the campus is more pedestrian friendly in general, especially on game days.

I think the brick color on campus is terrible, it isn't offensive when you see it as a whole, but if you looked at just the brick its just not a good color.

It isn't offensive? WTF? Now we gots to worry 'bout buildings being offensive? If that's the case, then the whole campus at NC State should find a safe space :oops:
 
#40
#40
the faux collegiate gothic bs the school claims as an architectural style is straight up bs, and quiet ugly. they will all age terribly. heck some of the new dorms have fiber cement panels (Hardie) like you see on a house. and lining all the pedestrian paths with 7 story buildings doesn't make a great feel to campus, way too urban of a look.

the architecture building is great. It was designed as a teaching tool, and only stands out because the university decided to go with the faux collegiate gothic style everywhere instead of the places it made sense. it also references some of the leading architects of the time, several of the professors had worked with those architects. If you had a better style across campus that allowed for more flexibility the Architecture Building wouldn't stand out so much as an "eye sore". As I said before it stands out as a great teaching tool, you see exactly what goes into a building, and the overall form shows one of the two ways you deal with context. You can either try to blend in and not stand out, doesn't make sense for a College of Design, or you can be your own thing when the local context doesn't make sense for the purpose of your building. The main weakness of the collegiate gothic is it doesn't scale terribly well, the Architecture Building was one of the largest buildings on campus at the time, and trying to apply an already bad standard just doesn't make sense. and as I keep saying its great for the students learning to design so they don't see one, boring, standard everywhere, its just not conducive. pretty much every major architecture program building is this way, different from the rest.

most of the street scape improvements have been great imo. I am in the same place as Rhett about that statue on Pedestrian Walk, I was there too and it made no sense, "Whirlwind of Opportunity" my butt. its definitely a good thing the campus is more pedestrian friendly in general, especially on game days.

I think the brick color on campus is terrible, it isn't offensive when you see it as a whole, but if you looked at just the brick its just not a good color.
I agree generally. They have crammed a building or parking garage in what seems like every open space. I don’t think all the new buildings will age well.
 
#41
#41
Anything built in the 60s or 70s like Humanities is going to look awful. Money was tight then and the architecture was unimaginitve. Ironically, I kinda like the contrast, sort of gives it a Felini look compared to the rest of campus.
 
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#42
#42
View attachment 584517

I think it's this one ("Whirlwind of Opportunity"). To me, it looks like someone tacked together some castoff parts from Space Mountain and a carnival ride or two.

Edit: Has anyone crawled into this thing and become stuck? If so, it may actually have a purpose as a holding area for unruly visiting fans (particularly ones who lose their britches in the stadium)...sort of a futuristic version of stocks on the village square.
Wow, this is god awful.
 
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#44
#44
I haven't been to the campus for years (graduated in early 2000s), but used to think the business school building (Stockley?) was ugly as hell - like a deserted spam can amongst bunch of beautiful red brick buildings (and yes McClung too)
 
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#45
#45
View attachment 584517

I think it's this one ("Whirlwind of Opportunity"). To me, it looks like someone tacked together some castoff parts from Space Mountain and a carnival ride or two.

Edit: Has anyone crawled into this thing and become stuck? If so, it may actually have a purpose as a holding area for unruly visiting fans (particularly ones who lose their britches in the stadium)...sort of a futuristic version of stocks on the village square.
I thought it was titled “Hot Dookie”.
 
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#46
#46
That horrific statue in the center of the pedestrian walkway needs to go. I was a student when it went up. Everyone hated it then and the artist, some postmodern Yankee with no affiliation to UT basically responded by saying we were classless and didn’t know good art when we saw it. Never met anyone who actually liked it.

I’d love a fountain, or a bronze statue of Crockett, rifle in hand kneeling next to Smokey, both their eyes trained on the Hill. Something tied to the traditions of the school and the state.
Love that idea!!!
 
#47
#47
I haven't been to the campus for years (graduated in early 2000s), but used to think the business school building (Stockley?) was ugly as hell - like a deserted spam can amongst bunch of beautiful red brick buildings (and yes McClung too)

I agree, but I can live with that one if those others are gone.
 
#48
#48
Anything built in the 60s or 70s like Humanities is going to look awful. Money was tight then and the architecture was unimaginitve. Ironically, I kinda like the contrast, sort of gives it a Felini look compared to the rest of campus.
It's typical of mid 60's to early 70's architecture .... which I consider to have been imaginative, but incredibly awful taste. Buildings from that period will stick out like a sore thumb in any locale.
 
#49
#49
The campus lo

The campus looks a lot better than the 90s and even ten yrs ago. It takes time.
Attending in the 90’s I loved the older part of campus with the brick and big magnolia trees.. some of the ‘modern’ buildings were a little ugly imo, not gonna lie 😂.. it was a great time to be on campus, though
 
#50
#50
Been playing with AI art (bye week, ya know). Imagine something kind of along this line instead of the swirling whirlwind garbage on the pedestrian walk. Obviously not exactly right, but you get the idea
 

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