Intensification of the Use of Space and of Resources
The campus is at the stage of development when, in the next decades, we will face a decision either to expand across I-25 and form a new East Campus, to expand south into the sports area, or to increase the height of new structures. In the interim, it is recommended that the area of the Main Quadrangle be fully developed, and all available resources be used for either new buildings or outdoor green or gathering areas.
The Main Quadrangle, the area between University and Stewart and between El Paseo and McFie circle, offers relatively few building sites except parking lots fronting University Avenue. These areas can be developed if two conditions are met.
First, supplemental convenient parking has to be found in the vicinity of the campus. Second, the remaining area has to be intensively developed to provide the needed interstitial space to balance solid volumes with voids. The open space is needed to preserve the relaxed atmosphere of the facility, which is one of the attractions of the campus.
It is our intention to use the fallow landscape of the quadrangle to provide new outdoor facilities as well as new instruction space.
The concept of intensification is not only dictated by necessity but also by the Jeffersonian concept of the enclosed academic commons, which he fostered at his design of the University of Virginia.
The same principle is applicable to the northern face of the campus. Until now the university was built to face inward, towards the Horseshoe and the Mall. This happened because there once was no city north of the campus. This is no longer true and we need to develop an urban edge to the campus. Partly making virtue out of necessity and partly as an act of completion of the quadrangle, it will be appropriate to erect a well-defined border and to complete the mass of the university by erecting buildings along University Avenue.
Then, and only then, when we use every square foot of land in the Main Quadrangle, should we seek to expand. At that time, we will face the decision whether to go south or east or across the Interstate.
The ten-minute rule governs the maximum distance from one building to another. When a student cannot walk from class to class in that time, he/she has to arrange a schedule accordingly and lose an hour, an unacceptable alternative. But the ten- minute rule is not the only driving force behind the proposed intensification of facility use. A university campus is not only a place for intellectual development, but also for emotional and ethical growth. For that, we need a space for personal interaction, both sheltered and outside, space where students and staff can meet, shed the pressures of study and work, and relax and enjoy themselves.
The NMSU campus is presently poor in friendly, informal spaces. We suggest that both goals can be achieved, obtaining additional building sites and new outdoor space, if land is properly and fully utilized.
The university has several resources, some of them irreplaceable. For instance, its early buildings acquire increasing value because they represent tradition and stability, and provide a perspective on the span of time in which this university functioned and served its community. There are several early buildings such as the Seed House, the oldest building on campus, and the YMCA building, an early Trost design. There are later structures that have won affection in the hearts of alumni and students such as the Kent Hall, ROTC building, Dove Hall, Hadley Hall, Alumni Memorial Tower, and Goddard Hall.
It is in the interest of the university to preserve its heritage and pass it onto new generations of students and faculty. It is not always economical to retain and preserve an older building. Its life cycle cost can exceed that of a modern design, but a university is the bearer not only of efficiency, which its technical and business disciplines inculcate in the young minds, but also of culture. The design of the buildings and outdoor spaces are an integral part of the education students take with them after their graduation, which nourishes them for the rest of their lives.