From what I heard a year or so ago the plan was to tear down Wilson and replace it with a parking garage.  I think that idea may have been scrapped though for a variety of reasons.

Was that after they abandoned the plan to build A&S a new building? That side of campus probably could use some parking, Ideally, they would bury the garage and then put a building atop it. You could probably expand the footprint toward McMicken a bit without ruining the vibe of that area. My sense is that unless something dramatically changes in the next couple years, they are basically only going to build if you've got all the money lined up ahead of time (or you can burn the building ala the old Physics Building).

I've always wondered what was inside Wilson..I had no idea it was in that kind of shape and not being used at all. It looks awesome from the outside and from those pics it looks like it could be beautiful if it was in good condition. I would love to UC renovate it like they did with the Teacher's college building, which looks amazing now...of course it all comes down to what the university needs and the money it has. Dorm space is an obvious need with the increasing number of freshman each year. This year they had to place new freshman in the one fraternity that is left in Stratford because there was so little room. I feel like UC is close to hitting it's breaking point in terms of how many people/classes it can house on campus every day plus the amount of students living on campus.

I noticed today that Old Chem looks like it nearly lost a whole wall (on the side by Rieveschl heading toward the Library). Any word on what happened or when?

One wonders if folks are considering upgrading Raymond Walters to a four year campus again - perhaps moving the Business School out there (it has been eyed for a new building for a while).

I noticed today that Old Chem looks like it nearly lost a whole wall (on the side by Rieveschl heading toward the Library). Any word on what happened or when?

 

Yeah, that wall suddenly started to slip.  I'm not sure what caused it, but the bulge is massive.  It happened over the past couple of months, and about half of the building is closed off right now because of it.

That's a sneaky way to get a new building, because that doesn't look like an easy fix, though that building was added on to, so you could probably shrink it back to its original footprint (which would still make it larger than Swift).

I've never even heard the thought mentioned to get rid of Old Chem or any of the buildings that make up the quad area there.

That's a sneaky way to get a new building, because that doesn't look like an easy fix, though that building was added on to, so you could probably shrink it back to its original footprint (which would still make it larger than Swift).

 

From what I've heard, there was a leak in the roof and water got between the exterior facade (brick curtain wall) and the internal wall and caused the bricks to bulge out. I doubt this was an attempt to get a new building.

I was being sarcastic. I'll have to remember to put an emoticon. I don't think the building should be torn down, but it does look like fixing it is going to take some seriously invasive surgery, which is why I could see the back part of the building come down, because you all are right that the quad facades need to be retained. It might have to get a more intense version of what happened to Swift (which was gutted back it its walls as part of the University Village stuff).

One wonders if folks are considering upgrading Raymond Walters to a four year campus again - perhaps moving the Business School out there (it has been eyed for a new building for a while).

 

Move a integral part of the university 15 miles away from campus?  No thanks.

^I would venture to say that 80% of the College of Business students are commuters.

Ive noticed this week that the streets and sidewalks on the east side of the baseball stadium and south of sander hall, and around the arena on the other side of sander have been marked with spray paint. They have marked water lines but Im not sure what the other markings are for. Could this be a part of the planning for the new Jefferson sports complex or for something else?

It has to be utilities. Red-electric, Yellow-gas, Blue-water, Green-sewer, Orange-communications, white- future excavation. I'm sure they will be digging in the area to fix a problem.

Another question is what are they going to do with the law school.  It appears the current plan is to demolish and rebuild in place.

 

 

^I would venture to say that 80% of the College of Business students are commuters.

 

That number is probably reasonable regarding the overall population, but the College of Business has developed some very strong specialty honors programs in the last several years that are incredibly integrated with the rest of the University and full of Clifton residents.  Many of the University's leaders, including several of the past student body presidents and vice-presidents and two of the last three undergraduate representatives to the BoT, are CoB students.  I would argue for the college to be more connected with the rest of UC (the location on MLK can feel like its on another campus) rather than less so.

^I would venture to say that 80% of the College of Business students are commuters.

 

I don't have stats to back it up but I would disagree with that just based on how it was when I went there 5+ years ago.  The majority of CoB students lived around campus when I went there.  I would think that number has gone over the years.

As a recent COB graduate I can attest that any action designed to displace undergraduate COB students off campus would radically alter campus life.  If you look at Honors PLUS students and Kolodzik Scholars - those programs supply more than their fair share of campus leadership.  Also, I'm pretty sure that there is no large capital campaign for the COB right now to finance this.

I graduated in 2002 and my guess is back then it was not 80% commuters to COB.  Personally, I would not have been happy if the COB was off campus when I was there, and even though I am not currently a student, I think it needs to stay on campus.

I would have refused to go to UC if the CoB was out in an auto-centric area.

UC building gets 'green' award

Cincinnati Enquirer, December 15, 2009

 

The CARE/Crawley medical research building at the University of Cincinnati is the first building on campus to be awarded LEED Gold certification by the U.S. Green Building Council.

CCM Library Moves to New Location – Closing December 24 through January 7

http://libraries.uc.edu/information/news/pressrelease/0910/ccmlibrarymove09.html

 

December 18, 2009 - The Albino Gorno Memorial Music (CCM) Library and Music Listening Center will be closed December 24 through January 7 so that it may move from its current location on the fourth floor of Blegen Library to its newly renovated location on the sixth floor.

 

The move from the fourth floor of Blegen Library to the sixth floor will allow the CCM Library to operate in contiguous space rather than in two separate wings as it does now. The centerpiece of the new CCM Library will be the handsome Reading Room with tall windows, historic chandeliers, and wooden bookcases. 

 

During the move, CCM Library online resources will be accessible per usual via their Web site at www.libraries.uc.edu/libraries/ccm.

 

The CCM Library will open for business in their new location beginning Friday, January 8.

Dang...I was hoping that the CCM library would eventually move into the former YMCA building along Calhoun.

Anywhere is better than the current location in the catacombs of Blegen.  I've had to go in there a few times, and I swear there were cave trolls running around the aisles when I wasn't looking, and with 6'-6" or so ceilings, I constantly hit my head on all the light fixtures.  Of course, the Classics Library is still tucked in down there.

This too...

 

University of Cincinnati may expand into old Ford plant

 

Under a deal being pursued by California developer Stuart Lichter, UC would establish classroom space for four of its colleges in a two-story office building that’s attached to the vacant plant. That would bring dozens of jobs and hundreds of students to the 132-acre site that once housed more than 1,700 Ford employees.

 

“This would be called UC East,” said Robert Ambach, interim senior vice president for administration and finance at UC. Ambach said a lease of up to 70,000 square feet is contemplated.

 

Read full article...

Anyone know what the construction is along calhoun between the old ymca and clifton ave? I can never get a good look when I drive by. Anything is better than that deadly "sidewalk" that went down the side of that hill. I felt like a camel going down into the grand canyon every time I walked on it.

I actually just got a photo of it yesterday:

 

 

It seems like they are leveling the hill a bit.  I bet they'll build a less steep ramp than what was there before.  The steep asphalt seemed like a temporary solution.

They are using that hill area to put excess dirt/soil from another project.

They are using that hill area to put excess dirt/soil from another project.

Any idea what this other project is?

Have they started prep work for the Brian Kelly memorial practice fields? If so, I'd imagine it would be from there.

They need to do something with that hill because that poor excuse for an asphalt walkway is horrible.  It looks like a left-over lava flow from a valcano.

See what happens when you build a structure out of styrofoam? DAAP architecture students, take heed:

 

Acclaimed DAAP building leaks; University of Cincinnati sues contractors

 

I love DAAP (the college), but I've never been a fan of Eisenman's Aronoff Center. In only 16 years it looks like it's aged about 50. The money spent to build all those disjointed shapes should have gone into a facility that meets the college's needs while keeping the rainwater outside.

 

    ^--- Thank you! Thank you!

 

    That building is a failure. Yet it won an award for architecture. Let that be a lesson for all architecture students.

Acclaimed? That building is HIDEOUS and a nightmare to walk through!

The central stair and cafe space inside the building are its best features, but lots of great buildings have grand staircases and gathering areas without the issues that Aronoff has.

So does anyone know why they cut down all the trees by the former asphalt path across from Krishna? I know they were putting some dirt there from somewhere else, but when I returned from co-op I was surprised to see the path and all the trees gone.

The Aronoff was notoriously over-budget. It was all over the local press for taking longer and costing much more than planned. After that, the administration got much sneakier about managing new buildings that cost more than planned (Varsity Village I'm looking @ you). That sneakiness is what Zimpher had to come in and fix. Steger et al. liked to play with the numbers. The worst started after the clustercuss that was DAAP. DAAP was rumored to be a 25 year building, whereas the rest of campus is assumed to be 50 year buildings.

Ah yes.  As a student at DAAP from the groundbreaking of the Aronoff through occupancy, these is no surprise to anyone familiar with the building.  From having lots of drywall edges/corners in a 24 hour building to replacing the windows above the library within the first couple of years to stories of contractors just loading tube after tube of sealant/caulk into joints, this was destined to fail. 

 

One of my classes was a building envelope class where we (on paper) tore the envelope design apart.

^ Yeah, EIFS is the problem with DAAP.  Probably wasn't the best material choice for a design that involved so many small protrusions and has so many corners and angles.  That itself was a product of UC cutting costs, as the original design called for a tile of sorts. 

 

It's the design on the detail and wall section end (and the construction of those) that are the problem.  Eisenman has buildings that look similar to DAAP everywhere, and they don't all experience the problems DAAP does, so it's not the deconstructionist style itself, it's the more difficult details that come with it.

 

  You know, there's a reason why traditional buildings don't have all those strange details.

 

  That's not to say that every building has to be a rectangular box. Lots of shapes are possible with traditional construction methods. When an architect breaks the rules to make a statement, bad things can happen.

 

  When that building opened, it got a lot of attention, both good and bad. I thought it resembled the inside of a cave; the shapes are very organic, and jumbled, with inconsistant widths and heights. There are places one can bump his head, too, just like a natural cave. That's not good architecture.

 

    There was only one detail that I liked. There are small auditoriums built into the hallways for student to make presentations to groups up to 10 people. Anyone can walk in and watch a presentation.

 

    To each his own, but the fact that it is falling apart just years after it opened makes it a failure.

That building is a failure. Yet it won an award for architecture. Let that be a lesson for all architecture students.

 

Acclaimed? That building is HIDEOUS and a nightmare to walk through!

 

I believe the Eisenman building won awards for its creative combination of the new structure that Eisenman built with the existing structure there.  The central atrium space where the two buildings were connected is quite impressive.  The rest I will agree lacks much window space and is quite confusing for those not spending the vast majority of their lives there.

EIFS is a great material, but it is really hard to find someone who knows how to install it correctly.  I worked on several office buildings and hotels that used it, and we always had problems.  I am sure all the funky angles made it even harder on the DAAP building.

UC wins $5M stimulus grant for lab renovations

Business Courier of Cincinnati | January 11, 2010

 

The University of Cincinnati College of Medicine’s Department of Environmental Health has received a $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to fund laboratory renovations.

 

The funding will be used to renovate the Kettering Laboratory research complex, located on UC’s Academic Health Center campus in Cincinnati. Renovations of the 61-year-old building complex will begin this summer and continue through 2014.

 

Read full article here:

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2010/01/11/daily10.html

I noticed today that Old Chem looks like it nearly lost a whole wall (on the side by Rieveschl heading toward the Library). Any word on what happened or when?

 

Here's how it looked last week:

They've built an enormous chain-link fence around the area that will be come the "Brian Kelly Memorial Practice Fields".

They are going to be tearing up the corry parking lot here very soon..probably spring break. I work at the Arlitt Center and a letter was sent home to parents about not being able to park there anymore when picking up their children.

Parking has been shut off as of today, except for a few spaces for Artlitt parking, and groundbreaking will occur tomorrow.

"Brian Kelly Memorial Practice Fields".

 

LOL.

Tuition also went up 7% for next year.

This morning:

 

Moments ago: