Administrators are mapping out a vision for the Duke campus of the future, a campus that is more pedestrian-friendly and promotes interaction across traditional architectural and geographical boundaries.
At this afternoon's Academic Council meeting, Executive Vice President Tallman Trask and University Architect John Pearce will unveil a draft of the campus master plan, showcasing a document that sets forth guiding principles for future campus growth and suggests a vast array of specific projects the University could undertake within those parameters.
Trask explained that the master plan, written by Seattle-based consultant Lee Copeland, is a proposed conceptual framework, not a detailed schedule of construction projects. "It's meant to be illustrative," he said. "It doesn't pretend to describe what it is we should do."
Eventually, the master plan will be updated as the University completes its academic strategic planning and identifies the programs that should be targeted for growth.
"I think [the master plan is] stretching us and making us think," said Provost Peter Lange, who is coordinating the academic planning process. "The timing, coming into conjunction with the strategic plan, is terrific."
In the next few weeks, Trask will be bringing the long-range facilities plan before several University committees, including the Buildings and Grounds Committee of the Board of Trustees. "I'm trying to engage everyone into a conversation no one's used to having," he said, stressing the importance of discussing broad goals, not just the specific projects.
He expects to bring a more finalized version of the plan to the full Board in May for approval.
Once the master plan is approved, the University will begin implementing it, starting with the Duke Action Plan 2000. The current draft of this document emphasizes seven short- and long-term projects to consider, like improving the landscaping of the connection between East Campus and the Ninth Street area, turning part of Science Drive into a courtyard and reconfiguring the parking and transit system on the Chapel Quadrangle.
But these first initiatives are only a small piece of the overall draft plan, a thick, conceptual document filled with everything from broad principles to detailed recommendations concerning landscaping and road design.
Guiding Principles
The draft master plan outlines six goals for the campus; these
Duke must retain its identity as a "university in the forest," pursuing conservation initiatives that "maintain the quality and character of the natural environment."
Duke should emphasize itself as a "historic and dynamic campus," making sure that new construction fits into the overall style by using "respectful but not historicist architecture."
Duke should make its mark as a "premier institution" by ensuring that new buildings are of the highest quality, with a review and approval process for specific projects designed to maintain this stature.
Duke should promote itself as a "community of communities," with facilities designed to "support the development of interaction both within and between these groups."
Duke should be a "network of memorable places," using new construction to make "human-scale open spaces with distinct character," like plazas.
Duke should become a "walkable, understandable campus," with a visible logic, clearly identified campus boundaries, reduced traffic and an increase in pedestrian pathways. Trask said many of these pathways will be more accessible to people who use wheelchairs than are current paths.
The planners then took these goals and outlined narrowly tailored approaches to some of the facilities problems facing the University.
For example, the document suggests ways to improve bicycle circulation, push parking facilities toward the perimeter of the campus and make car traffic flow around campus instead of through it.
Specific Initiatives
Perhaps the most imagination-inspiring portion of the document is the "applications" section, where the master planners divided the campus into small sections and came up with a wide range of improvement ideas in each zone.
One illustrative example of the ways in which the master plan's goals guide the details is the idea of converting one end of Science Drive into a plaza. The schematic drawings in the draft plan suggest stopping the road in front of the Math/Physics Building and stopping Research Drive closer to Erwin Road, creating the kind of walkable plaza favored by the planners.
The plan also suggests placing new research buildings in the area, forming an enclosed, memorable space similar to the Levine Science Research Center quadrangle. The plan would use a pedestrian walkway to connect the main academic section of West Campus with the science buildings, hopefully achieving the stated goal of community connection.
Most likely, only a relatively small number of the projects outlined will ever make it into the University's construction budget. Administrators stressed that the preliminary ideas presented by the plan are most beneficial because they constitute a wide range of options.
Implementation
From these options, University administrators must determine what is most feasible and cost-effective within the confines of the master plan.
The draft plan creates zones for different types of development and suggests a structure for project approval that relies on a high-powered master plan implementation committee. This group would provide much-needed oversight and coordination of project development at the University, which has often expanded in unplanned fits and starts.
"One can argue that in the late '20s, Duke had the greatest master plan in the history of American higher education, and it stopped doing it," Trask said.
Under the proposed new structure, the implementation committee will approve periodic action plans, the first of which is currently in draft form.
This action plan identifies the first areas the University will address, including the Residential Program Review and the Science Drive courtyard.
Lange and Trask both called the Science Drive idea "intriguing," but stressed that it requires careful study and prioritization of academic programs. "If we said we're going to have a science plaza, we'd be putting the cart before the horse," Lange said.
Within the 2000 action plan draft, Trask highlighted several areas. "One of the things that I will be certain to spend some time on is the connection between East Campus, Ninth Street and Broad Street," he said, explaining that "three yellow poles" and a "cowpath" do not provide an adequate enough entrance to the University. "It's pretty shabby."
Trask also envisions substantial changes to the way buses and cars use the main West quad. The master plan suggests that a transit center could be created behind the Allen Building, cleaning up the view in front of the Chapel. Most cars might also not be able to park on the Chapel Quad, although some of the spaces might be converted into handicapped spots, Trask said. A separate consultant is studying the thorny West Campus residential parking issue.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.