Ouch...UT Knoxville Among America's "Ugliest" campuses?

#101
#101
VolFromNashville said:
I think part of the problem is that there is hardly any green space. It's all concrete. Not to mention HSS and McClung, Architecture building, etc look so outdated. I wish that all buildings were built in the style of Ayres Hall. Having a matching campus would make it look much better IMO. But that'll never happen with the "modern" look the newer buildings are going after.
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In case anybody is interested and didn't know this already, the long-term goal of the school is something along these lines, along with addressing some of the other biggest gripes that people have with the campus. For one, the green space is supposed to be greatly improved upon in the near future. Almost all roads will be removed from campus and replaced with pedestrian friendly areas.

There's a lot of work going on right now; in just the time I've been attending, we have a new music building, a new health facility, a stadium renovation, the football training center, the Min Kao building, the Tickle Building, and work is ongoing on a new Student Union and a new residence hall. There's talk about replacing more of the older engineering buildings near the back side of the stadium (and I can only imagine that when they demolish Estabrook and replace it with a green space, they'll pretty up the back of the stadium like they did the front).

If you want to see the long-term plan and don't mind going through ~90 pages to do it, here is the Master Plan (updated in 2011).
 
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#102
#102
DC Vol said:
Beautiful:

800px-Ayres_Hall_abree.jpg


Not Beautiful:

420110802154515001_t607.JPG


420110802154504003_t607.JPG


Whatever the crap this "art" is

420110802154513001_t607.JPG


Nobody, I think, wants "castles" but having more of what we see on the Hill would help volumes.
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I don't disagree with this but what could you do with those buildings short of knocking them down and rebuilding something else which would cost a fortune?

And somebody needs to pull that metal spaghetti down with a tractor.
 
#103
#103
Majorvol23 said:
i thought it was purty - & my freshman year roommate from Philadelphia picked it because he thought it was purty too

Tuck Fravel & Leisure
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I actually chose it over several other schools, notably NCSU and MSU, because it was/is far prettier. I hope NCSU and Purdue fall way down on that list below UT, those are awful places.

As a side note, I have very fond memories of the campus at night and of many morning runs along the river. I could see the mountains from the roof of Hess hall.

The problem with the perception of UTs campus is that the strip is the gateway to campus for all visitors. It is terribly ugly. In fact, after the APSU game a couple of my old college friends noted that very thing as we were strolling down the strip and reminiscing about our time as students at UT. The strip should be annexed and beautified. Line it with trees, fix the facades of those crap hole businesses and all is well.
 
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#104
#104
UtahVol said:
University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

With a lack of green space and a road slicing the campus in half, the brick and concrete environs of the University of Tennessee could double as a skateboard park. The John C. Hodges Library is a notable eyesore. Not only was the original 1969 building unappealing, in 1987 more brick cascades were added, accentuating the squat proportions. Fortunately, any daytime dreariness is in stark contrast to night, when, according to one student on Unigo.com, “The campus is a wonderland, with all of the buildings lit up and the pedestrian walkway lined with gorgeous lamps.”



America's Ugliest College Campuses- Page 11 - Articles | Travel + Leisure
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UT must Not have subscribed to their magazine!
 
#105
#105
Serene said:
In case anybody is interested and didn't know this already, the long-term goal of the school is something along these lines, along with addressing some of the other biggest gripes that people have with the campus. For one, the green space is supposed to be greatly improved upon in the near future. Almost all roads will be removed from campus and replaced with pedestrian friendly areas.


There's a lot of work going on right now; in just the time I've been attending, we have a new music building, a new health facility, a stadium renovation, the football training center, the Min Kao building, the Tickle Building, and work is ongoing on a new Student Union and a new residence hall. There's talk about replacing more of the older engineering buildings near the back side of the stadium (and I can only imagine that when they demolish Estabrook and replace it with a green space, they'll pretty up the back of the stadium like they did the front).

If you want to see the long-term plan and don't mind going through ~90 pages to do it, here is the Master Plan (updated in 2011).
Click to expand...

FYI, when I started in 1997 they made these same promises about huge upgrades, and when I graduated in 2002 I dont think any had been begun in earnest. Im glad they are making headway now, a short 15 years later.
 
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#106
#106
DC Vol said:
Beautiful:

Not Beautiful:


Whatever the crap this "art" is

Nobody, I think, wants "castles" but having more of what we see on the Hill would help volumes.
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Of course the two ugly pics you posted are in the exact same area, about 100 ft. away from each other.
 
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#107
#107
I think Hodges is cool. Some of the other buildings, like Humanities....not so much.

But there's plenty of beauty on that campus: Ayres, Neyland, Circle Park. It's not Charlottesville, VA or Oxford, MS but it's not trying to be.

FWIW, UTK in October is a beautiful as it gets to me....
 
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#109
#109
daj2576 said:
FYI, when I started in 1997 they made these same promises about huge upgrades, and when I graduated in 2002 I dont think any had been begun in earnest. Im glad they are making headway now, a short 15 years later.
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Of course, actually working on the plan is a double-edged sword. Now that work is actually getting done, the biggest complaint I hear is that there's always construction going on somewhere. I guess some current students are a little unhappy that there's a bunch of inconvenient eyesores around campus and they'll never even really get to enjoy the finished products. But if we want improvements, the demolition and construction has gotta happen sometime.
 
#110
#110
I'm conflicted because I appreciate and enjoy architecture and understand its value but given what we have.....as many have mentioned little focus and or complimentary structures and the needs of of education system I think our entire focus should be on content and NOT buildings....if you need them make them completely utilitarian, minimalist, out of cinder block...
 
#111
#111
DC Vol said:
The 70s era buildings are hideous.

Hess is hideous.

Humanities is hideous.

The library is hideous.

UT really doesn't do it's "wtf are trees" campus any favors with those buildings.

And this new $10,000,000 building?

Natalie-L-Haslam-Music-Center.jpg


Also hideous, in my opinion. Something just built within the last year somehow found a way to look like it was built in the 70s. That's probably why the band was so mad.

And TBA is kinda ugly from the outside.
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This.
 
#113
#113
Went to grad school at the University of Iowa.

I loved it and it was beautiful except for the 6 months of the year when the whole state was covered in dirty piles of snow . . .

My guess is a Bammer grad wrote this article. I've seen tons of campuses that are worse.
 
#115
#115
Travel and leisure can suck it. Only thing I'd change is take down the electrical poles on the strip and put it all underground.
 
#117
#117
This shows how stupid and biased they are.
Putting a negative spin on one of, if not the nicest college libraries in this country is just plain crazy.
 
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#120
#120
ice said:
This shows how stupid and biased they are.
Putting a negative spin on one of, if not the nicest college libraries in this country is just plain crazy.
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Dude, Alabama has 3 libraries that are nicer than hodges. Next. Classic designs stand the test of time. Ayers is still beautiful, the new music building will look outdated in about 7 years. Walk up Lake Loudon Rd and count how many different colors of brick and concrete you see. A little consistency would be nice.
 
#121
#121
callmecrockett said:
Dude, Alabama has 3 libraries that are nicer than hodges. Next. Classic designs stand the test of time. Ayers is still beautiful, the new music building will look outdated in about 7 years. Walk up Lake Loudon Rd and count how many different colors of brick and concrete you see. A little consistency would be nice.
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Bammers don't read! :lolabove: That's not a library. It's a book confinement facility.
 
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#122
#122
Well at least our women are beautiful, and pretty much everyone agrees on that. I've had friends from all over the conference and up north say Tennessee pretty much takes the cake in that regard. Also evidenced by the unanimous decision by those 6 or 7 recruits a while back.
 
#123
#123
The Haslam Business Building is beautiful and up to date. Much better than the Glocker that I went to.

There isn't a whole lot that can be done unless you have a pile of money and scrap everything. Public education is having its issues. The campus is landlocked- river, Strip, railroad tracks. Because of this, new buildings have to be put up next to each other. I think the view from the library down to the stadium and up the Hill is very nice. It used to be a sight when the band marched that way on gameday. It isn't the prettiest, but I don't think it's bad either. I have been to every SEC campus in the last 15 years, and I would consider UT in the middle of the pack.
 
#124
#124
Well the Grove is pretty, along with a few other campuses in the deep south. However, if you mosey out of the campus area it's awful. We may not have the prettiest campus, but we damn sure live in the most beautiful state in the south.
 
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