UT to invest millions in campus beautification

#26
#26
My freshman year ('94) at UT I can remember when Andy Holt was open to traffic. They finally shut it down around '96 to create a "greenway." For the better part of a decade the Hodges library end of Andy Holt was a delapidated, not open to traffic, street. Sure, there were planters at either end but a greenway? Not even close.


I love UT but a beautiful campus it is not. There's still way too much concrete and way to many buildings that don't fit. Who the heck designed the Spam Can or the tower by the Humanities bldg? For more than a decade the senior gift clock at the corner of Volunteer/AndyHolt was only correct twice every 24hrs. UT's idea of campus beautification was dumping several tons of ripe smelling mulch around the base of concrete encased trees.

What they need to do is build some new dorms or completely renovate a few of the current ones. Presedential courtyard is terribly outdated.
 
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#28
#28
kamoshika said:
Long overdue, IMO...

A multimillion-dollar overhaul of Volunteer Boulevard will be the marquee project in the University of Tennessee's new plan to shed its "ugly campus" reputation. UT will ditch on-street parking, add bike lanes and install lush new landscaping along the city-owned, horseshoe-shaped campus thoroughfare...

"We don't want to do a gradual improvement, although that would be great. What we really want to do is a quantum leap that transforms the view of this campus," said Dave Irvin, associate vice chancellor for facilities...

Most of the work could be done by the end of 2014, and it will be funded largely through student facility fees, Irvin said.
UT to invest millions in campus beautification » Knoxville News Sentinel
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Thank you. Make it happen
 
#30
#30
Flipdaddy said:
Ugly campus reputation????? Seriously? Tennessee has a great looking campus. The river, the hill, the historic stadium etc...I love it! Only thing I don't like is that huge parking deck on the south end of the stadium. Also....when are they gonna start working in the south end stadium concourse? Or since Hamilton is gone have they scrapped it?
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You're either blind or you've never seen other campus's.
 
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#31
#31
I think the Spam Can was gone the University would drastically change...That has to be one of the ugliest buildings I have ever seen. Glad to see they are making a change for the better. They have done a good job the past 5-10 years at focusing on this.

I still am worried they are going to ruin the stadium by putting a parking garage next to it on the staff lot.
 
#32
#32
I have to agree, it has never been a very pretty campus, but it has gotten better since I was in school. Then again that is not saying much.
 
#33
#33
What about the Strip? The Strip, hands down, is the ugliest, dirtiest, ghettoest major street around a university campus among all universities I have been to.
 
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#35
#35
Are the plans still going ahead for the strip? I saw a plan a while back that would really improve it and get rid of all the power lines.
 
#37
#37
exotic_vols said:
What about the Strip? The Strip, hands down, is the ugliest, dirtiest, ghettoest major street around a university campus among all universities I have been to.
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Florida State's is pretty much the same but waaayyyyyy bigger. Just more nastiness haha.
 
#38
#38
exotic_vols said:
What about the Strip? The Strip, hands down, is the ugliest, dirtiest, ghettoest major street around a university campus among all universities I have been to.
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Immediately after graduating from Tennessee, I moved to Charlottesville for a decade long tour of duty in med and grad school (still here). When I got here I was absolutely mindblown over how great, clean, and awesome their "strip" was (they call it "the corner"). It's 5-6 blocks of neat bars, restaurants, personality, shops, boutiques, etc that are extremely well cared for and frequented (depending on the time of day) by undergrads, professional students, doctors and hospital staff, families visiting grounds, etc. Then at night it becomes party central and the bars pack out with real college atmosphere. Not till I got here and saw what it could truly be like did I realize what a scuzzbucket the knoxville Strip is. Sad really. SO MUCH POTENTIAL. What if the strip looked like this?

corner.gif


02.jpg


05.theCorner.jpg
 
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#39
#39
Instead of investing millions they should just pay me a few hundred grand to walk around the campus without a shirt. Instant improvement!
 
#40
#40
hmmm. sounds like a waste of money to me as the up keep once it is done will only keep going up and up, unless they give students the up keep job in exchange for cash or scholarships then it might be ok. it's like i think landscaping a yard is a waste of money cause it costs alot and you get little out of it other than the neighbors yacking about it or dogs pooping it and the fact the weeds and up keep cost more than the mulch you put down. but to each their own.
 
#41
#41
govols105 said:
hmmm. sounds like a waste of money to me as the up keep once it is done will only keep going up and up, unless they give students the up keep job in exchange for cash or scholarships then it might be ok. it's like i think landscaping a yard is a waste of money cause it costs alot and you get little out of it other than the neighbors yacking about it or dogs pooping it and the fact the weeds and up keep cost more than the mulch you put down. but to each their own.
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In other words . . . you're the guy with the bad yard in the neighborhood.
 
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#42
#42
GAVol said:
In other words . . . you're the guy with the bad yard in the neighborhood.
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Hahahahah. I had this immediate thought myself. Funny. I'm now imagining waist high weeds and 3 rusted out cars.

I can understand a discussion about how to get the most bang for university buck, but the whole "don't understand why they'd waste money to make it look good" sentiment is pretty funny.
 
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#44
#44
About time but the horse left this barn decades ago. If there's been any kind of architectural review it must have been by freshman arch majors starting in the 60s. UT has a lot going for it but a beautiful campus aint one of them.
 
#45
#45
exotic_vols said:
What about the Strip? The Strip, hands down, is the ugliest, dirtiest, ghettoest major street around a university campus among all universities I have been to.
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Yeah the Strip is pretty grungy and rundown. I've seen renderings of the revitilization plan. I think they're either on the UT or Knoxville government website. It looks nice but totally cost prohibitive and completely unrealistic.

I've been to Athens and their strip looks just about as rundown as ours but their campus is much greener and their architecture sticks to a theme.

Heck even our architecture building looks dated. That should tell you something right there.
 
#46
#46
I'm all for this! The Hill is beautiful & the stadium on the river unmatched, but some other areas are lacking. The spam can & art & architectural bldgs are beyond ugly! How ironic for the A&A!! I agree that a red brick theme should be standard like Ayres & the new Haslem (Glocker to me!) business bldg.
redoing Volunteer is well overdue & will be a big improvement. The strip was supposed to be redone years ago...the economy probably killed that project....maybe someday!
PS----BEAT KENTUCKY!
 
#49
#49
If you want to talk about truly old dorms, you should visit East and South Stadium Halls, located in the bowels of Neyland Stadium. Of course, they are no longer used as dorms. As a grad student in Anthropology, my office was 225 South Stadium Hall. When you go there, you will feel like the General is right around the next corner. It has the musty look and fell of the late 1920s or early 1930s, except, of course, for the air conditioning.
 
#50
#50
supersmo18 said:
You must have never visited any of the other SEC campuses. We are far behind in looks compared to Ole Miss, UGA, Auburn, etc.
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Well...I'm not saying it's the best. I've been to the crime infested Tuscaloosa and and I don't see it being beautiful. I've been to auburn and it's ok as well. I just disagreed with the "ugly campus reputation". It's in downtown Knoxville it's not gonna look like an institution that sits on a big pretty piece of land off in the distance.
 
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