CSU is going to City Planning this week to seek approval for the new dorms. Take a look at the designs. Pretty boring and bland. The worst part, in my opinion, is the bridge/walkway/dorm that will go over the new E.24st extension between Euclid and Prospect. Take a look:

 

http://planning.city.cleveland.oh.us/designreview/drcagenda/2008/081408/index.php

 

 

CSU has hired some corporation out of Austin to build and manage these buildings. Is the corporation in charge of the design? If so, I guess that they don't care too much about good architecture.

Thanks 3231.  I did not realize they were going to start these in January.  But, as you said, they are rather bland.  They almost have a "projects" look to them.

I'm waiting for the bashing to begin. C'mon guys.

Goooooo mediocrity!!!

 

 

Fyi, WMF did some of the work on the CSU Fitness/Wellness center though it's a nice facility, architecturally it's a snoozer.

It's not the worst thing in the world, but certainly not very imaginative. I think I could take these plans from about a thousand different developments around the country, repackage them into this presentation, collect my fee and go home without ever having broken a sweat or strained a brain muscle...

is that aluminum siding above the cove?

I don't see anything wrong with them. It's going to be built right up to the sidewalk, replacing a surface lot and ugly bookstore with a brick building full of windows and people living inside who don't have cars. CSU costs a fourth of what it costs to goto CWRU and these are very similar to the new dorms over there that have a football field in the middle, hidden off of Euclid.

 

I thought we all agreed on filling in surface lots and focusing on low-rise density throughout as the way to go, as opposed to building scattered high rises. CSU is slowly filling in the remaining gaps on the campus and is being very urban friendly with every single project. The new Admin building on Euclid has a restaurant on the ground level, which fronts the sidewalk on Euclid. Same thing with Fenn Tower, being beautifully restored and accessible on Euclid. They didn't need to go that way but they did. I am sure these dorms will not be setback with lawn like Cleveland Clinic, UH, and CWRU tend to do with all of their new projects. Let's give credit to CSU on this one.

 

Also, the design looks nearly identical to the brick building on Euclid at E. 71st that is in the process of being transformed into lofts. I think that building is beautiful.

^The scale is fine, as is the siting like you said. But otherwise, they're just so... "meh".

I'd say these are a far cry from the new case dorms. I think the Prospect bridge thing is horrible.

is that aluminum siding above the cove?

 

Vinyl.  No one does aluminum anymore. 

it makes me yawn, but it's not the worst thing i've ever seen.  It's not really a bridge either, it's housing that goes over the road.  It's a little surprising to see them go with such a snoozer given some of their recent stuff.  So it may be boring... but dear lord did anyone look at the inside of those rooms?!?  Those things are like freaking penthouses compared to MacKinnon Hall where they shoved me and 3 people into a room like sardines at OU.

Mind all of you, this is being built overlooking the innerbelt, of which is going to see a lot of construction, demolition, dust, and smoke flying around in the years to come. It's good this is happening now than waiting 15 years for the innerbelt to be re-configured.

Wow great, vinyl.  What a great, durable material that will last at least 8 years.

It's funny how many firms around the country cut and paste designs wherever they can simply to make a buck.  I'm embarrassed to be in the same profession as these slugs.

This thing really sucks.

don't get me wrong i think this thing sucks too... but i can't believe that's vinyl, i'm guessing just a yellow brick.  i can't imagine they'd build this whole thing out of brick and stone, and then tack up some vinyl siding in one section.  i think it's  bland, but i do at least like the siting on the euclid avenue side.  i can't imagine they needed the extra four rooms so badly that they HAD to have that overhang built.

Yeah true they are not the most intriguing designs but they are college dorms.  They are built for functionality.  Not to say we shouldn't want more but it's not going to happen for basically a rental unit that students beat the crap out of.  I just think it's great that there is, what seem like, a lot of brick on them.  In this day and age of rising construction costs these are not exactly cheap buildings.  We could be looking at all vinyl siding or cmu block exteriors, than we could really start crying.

don't get me wrong i think this thing sucks too... but i can't believe that's vinyl, i'm guessing just a yellow brick. i can't imagine they'd build this whole thing out of brick and stone, and then tack up some vinyl siding in one section. i think it's bland, but i do at least like the siting on the euclid avenue side. i can't imagine they needed the extra four rooms so badly that they HAD to have that overhang built.

 

McCleveland, I was just joking about the Vinyl.  I really don't know what type of material it is.  Probably some type of curtain wall.

Having brick is all fine and good, but they could have at least made an attempt to design something that from the looks of it will take up a whole city block.  If I didn't see the name of the firm at the top of the rendering I would have thought it was my favorite local architect serving as the designer.  Oh well, it's only Euclid Avenue I suppose...

Well, there's nothing architecturally exciting about them, but I prefer this to the new student center that looks like it belongs at the Tri-C East Campus.

I wish they at least would have varied the street-facing facades, in terms of their color, heights, window placements, etc. I don't care for massiveness in designs that are intended to be pedestrian-oriented. Make 'em human scale, or least give the impression of it by altering the facades every 50-100 feet or so.

I agree 100%^  That's my biggest problem with the design.  It is monotonous.

I would not count on that being real brick as opposed to some type of cosmetic material tacked on to give the appearance of brick.

I would not count on that being real brick as opposed to some type of cosmetic material tacked on to give the appearance of brick.

 

I would be suprised by that.  They actually still do a lot of brickwork these days. 

well I think we all agree CSU had a great opportunity for something really exciting in an interesting location... and dropped the ball.

 

I've still seen a ton worse.

well I think we all agree CSU had a great opportunity for something really exciting in an interesting location... and dropped the ball.

 

I've still seen a ton worse.

 

Yeah, but we need to remember, these are dormatories, not condo's that some develper is going to be selling for 500k to 750k.  Is Euclid Avenue the right location for these.  I don't know.  Are there any other cities that we can look at as examples that put their inner city campus dorms on their most main street that is trying to recapture is prominence.

Well, these students will be adding foot traffic to that part of Euclid. Which is a hell of a lot more than I can say for the other side of the innerbelt bridge on Euclid.

 

dontcha think that's a mite dee diddlely dull neighbor?  :laugh:

 

My take is this is uninspired monotony. I don't mind the bridge thing or the scale. It will be the final facade treatments that will make or break this for me. Are they seriously proposing vinyl?  :|

Why should it be inspired?  It's a dormitory, folks!  It doesn't need to be a landmark, it doesn't need to blow our minds, it doesn't need to make the cover of Dwell.  It needs to house students comfortably, and it needs to contribute to making CSU a better residential campus overall.  Those are the goals.  I'd hate to see CSU, or Euclid Ave, turn into a parade of buildings each trying to wow us more than the last.  That isn't how we build a great city.

It seems that some might prefer the pre-Schwartz days when there was only one place to live on campus - an old Holiday Inn.

I'm not sure that "a parade of buildings each trying to wow us more than the last" is a bad thing. Don't get me wrong X, I'm glad to see some more student housing going up and it doesn't have to be a masterpiece. Even a dormitory is an opportunity for an architect to show some creativity and effort and these renderings don't IMO show either. As always I'll reserve my final opinion until the project is completed, this was just my initial take on the renderings. :|

Mehhhh.. better than what we've got.

Why should it be inspired? It's a dormitory, folks! It doesn't need to be a landmark, it doesn't need to blow our minds, it doesn't need to make the cover of Dwell. It needs to house students comfortably, and it needs to contribute to making CSU a better residential campus overall. Those are the goals. I'd hate to see CSU, or Euclid Ave, turn into a parade of buildings each trying to wow us more than the last. That isn't how we build a great city.

 

But this does have a "wow" factor. Wow, it is really bad.

I have to totally disagree with X. We should be holding all new buildings up to certain standards of design, particularly along Euclid Avenue. We don't need something earth-shattering, but we should be able to expect something that's not downright bad.

That's fine, but what is the standard we are looking for?  Mostly I'm hearing calls for some more "razzle-dazzle", not substantive changes in layout, function, bulk, etc.  That's where my criticism of the criticism here (and on so many other threads lately) is coming from.

I'm with B12 and others here.  This looks like it's just a standard issue "dorm" design template that yes, fits within the urban landscape, but still falls short on a number of levels.  This is the same company that did such a fine job on the restoration and reuse of Fenn Tower... I was hoping for something better.  The materials, though we don't know much about them, look cheap & monotonous.  The "backside" nature of the Prospect facade is a huge slight IMO.  And being that this is a privately developed, university supported project that includes rental rates above and beyond the market and almost guaranteed occupancy rates, I would suspect that they can afford to reach a higher level of design quality with this project. 

 

FYI, this was lifted from last week's CPC agenda.  Let's hope they're doing some redesign.  Anyone know if it went to Citywide Design Review on Thursday?

Supposedly it went to design review on the 14th and CPC on the 15th.

And I reported that it was removed from the CPC agenda on the 15th.  This may mean that it wasn't well received on the 14th or that they pulled it from both agendas.

I agree .. this design needs to be pushed a bit more. I agree with what KJP said: they didn't break a sweat on this one. Designers, in whatever field they work, should constantly be pushing for the new, not just taking some template and creating prepackaged bullshit. There's no excuse for that.

 

At the same time, I'm not sure that dorms need something that's really mind-blowing. The thing is is that this design FITS with what is already in Cleveland. You see this design time and time again because people are afraid to break out from the norm and take a chance on something a bit different. I can understand that, but come on! A little fucking originality! I'm not saying it has to be the most gregarious new structure on Earth. But at least think for yourself for once and stop copying what's already out there!

From Crains:

Cleveland State to start education building

By SHANNON MORTLAND

 

2:02 pm, August 18, 2008

 

Cleveland State University this Wednesday will break ground for its $36 million College of Education and Human Services building.

 

The 97,000-square-foot building will provide the College of Education with a home of its own for the first time. The building will have 20 classrooms; computer, math and science laboratories; an auditorium for public forums; outdoor gardens; and indoor general gathering spaces.

 

The site is part of Cleveland State’s overall $300 million construction plan that includes a $29 million recreation center, a $55 million student center, residence halls, a parking garage and a baseball field.

 

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20080818/FREE/708428122/1099/newsletter01

^ Where is said baseball field to be located?

^ Where is said baseball field to be located?

 

On the wish list until they can find a donor who can have it built on the lots north of Chester.

^ Where is said baseball field to be located?

 

On the wish list until they can find a donor who can have it built on the lots north of Chester.

 

Chester and ??

^ Chester between E. 18th and E. 25th. AKA between the soccer dome and the innerbelt ramp.

Ahhh, that would be awesome.  Would it be a baseball-only facility or would they try to get some other use out of it?

^baseball only. It would be lined with dorms to creat the Varsity Village concept. I'm sure that you've already seen the renderings. They are a few years old.

^and If I'm not mistaken, they are similar to CWRU's football field concept?

^Correct.

 

CSU is not building the dorms, private developers are - thus the "mediocrity." If this were a CSU project, it would HAVE to be LEED Certified per policy. We will never see CSU take on any student housing project unless the terrorist blow up Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo - thus requiring all of the survivors relocating here.

^Correct.

 

CSU is not building the dorms, private developers are - thus the "mediocrity." If this were a CSU project, it would HAVE to be LEED Certified per policy. We will never see CSU take on any student housing project unless the terrorist blow up Chicago, Detroit, and Buffalo - thus requiring all of the survivors relocating here.

^Then I guess we'd have a bunch of white FEMA trailers parked all over Midtown :-P

Found this on CSU's Website:

 

http://www.csuohio.edu/news/releases/2008/08/14532.html

 

Groundbreaking for New College of Education and Human Services Building

Set for Wednesday, August 20

Tim Russert

Who:

 

Michael Schwartz, CSU President; Ronald Weinberg, Chairman, Board of Trustees; Mary Jane Saunders, Provost; James McLoughlin, Dean, College of Education and Human Services; Jack Boyle, Vice President, Business Affairs and Finance

What:

 

Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new home of the College of Education and Human Services

When:

 

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 at 4:00 p.m.; reception immediately following.

Where:

 

Next to Mather Mansion, 2605 Euclid Avenue. Parking will be available in the East Garage, located on Chester Avenue north of Mather Mansion. Enter from Chester Avenue.

Background Information:

 

The College of Education and Human Services will have its own building for the first time in its history as part of the ongoing CSU $250+ million campus master plan known as Building Blocks for the Future. The groundbreaking ceremony will mark the beginning of work that will culminate in a spectacular addition to the CSU and city landscape when the building opens its doors in 2010.

 

The $36 million building will serve as a center for collaborative learning and innovative teaching and learning, and will stand as an iconic eastern gateway to the CSU campus. Its environmentally friendly and sustainable design will feature digital interconnectivity and be well-suited for flexibility and future growth.

 

The approximately 97,000 square-foot building will feature:

 

    * A predominately glass exterior;

    * Twenty technologically state-of-the-art instructional rooms;

    * A technologically enhanced central public forum space where students, faculty, the community and leaders in education and nursing can gather to present, share and discuss relevant issues;

    * Gathering spaces outfitted with the latest technology where groups of students and faculty can collaborate, share and relax;

    * Cutting-edge computer, math education and science education laboratories;

    * Clinical areas where students of the College will get supervised practice and experience in teaching, counseling and tutoring;

    * Inviting outdoor garden spaces connecting the building with Fenn Tower to the west and the Health Sciences building to the north.

 

hmm, looks like it's trying. yet that rendering pic is pretty tiny so i'll withhold judgement.