Cramped archies spread to Brownson
By Meghan Martin
News Writer
The growing interest in architecture have forced students out of Bond Hall and into Brownson Hall, which is currently being used as an overflow space for classes.
Since its dedication in 1855, Brownson Hall has been home to everything from a convent to a printing company, graduate student housing to the University kitchen. As of early this semester, a new function has been added to the distinguished history of one of the oldest buildings on campus. Due to the mounting issue of classroom availability in Bond Hall, space has been set aside on the first floor of Brownson for a first-year architecture studio.
"It's our melting pot, so to speak," said Joe Schellinger, director of Academic Space Management, about Brownson's many roles.
Currently accommodating a number of University offices and two classrooms, Brownson has served as what Schellinger calls "swing space," a building not earmarked for a specific department, but rather used for those immediate needs of the University as they arise.
"Over the years, Brownson has been a spillover area where people have had their temporary offices," registrar Harold Pace said. He also cited the necessity of such a facility on a campus because of the lack of academic space becoming a major issue.
The instruction-space crunch can undoubtedly be felt most soundly in the corridors of Bond Hall, home to the University's School of Architecture. Not only are incoming-class sizes increasing rapidly, but it is to the point that there is no place for students to work. However, the school's space-utilization needs are slightly different than those of other colleges within the University.
It has been said that "the lights never go out in Bond Hall," and for architecture students juggling multiple projects at once, this myth has become a reality. Because architecture students use classrooms differently than their math-and-science counterparts, space must be available to them on a 24-hour basis, barring all other departments and programs from making use of the facility.
In years past, first- and second-year architecture students typically worked side-by-side in the basement of Bond. Last semester, despite the large numbers of both classes, there was a specific studio designated for students from both. The problem, however, was the cramped nature of students' surroundings.
"Nobody worked over there because there was literally nowhere to work," said Sarah Wilson, first-year architecture student.
Due to the cramped spaces, many architecture students simply brought their supplies to the residence halls, spreading their projects out on dorm-room floors and social spaces. Professor William Westfall, chair of the School of Architecture, agreed that workspace has become an issue, mentioning the fact that many students were forced "to work on top of each other, with very little space."
This semester, however, the school has had the opportunity to collaborate with Schellinger's Academic Space Management department to modify space on Brownson's first floor, so as to provide students with an adequate drafting studio.
"We were able to undergo some renovations" to that part of the building, Schellinger said, as the second semester of freshman year brings a significantly greater need for workspace, with the commencement of drafting classes for all those studying architecture. With an above-average class size of 68 freshmen coupled with the necessity of both a drafting table and layout table for each, it was clear that for the first time, Bond would prove inadequate for the space required.
In terms of the type of impact that this overcrowding may have on the School and the University in the future, Westfall could only speculate that "it is connected to other topics that we are looking into for the University's long-term planning."
Freshmen, like Wilson, however, will have to bear the brunt of the issue for the rest of the year. Although the facilities provided for them at Brownson are adequate in terms of space and availability, a number of students have voiced a concern that, of all classes, freshmen should have the opportunity to work in Bond. In order to fully gain exposure to interacting with upperclassmen in their field, and to gain a sense of what their work will be like in the future freshmen need to be working side by side with the upperclassmen.
"The big disadvantage is that we are not in Bond," Wilson said. "It is nice to get to be near the upperclassmen."
Either way, according to Schellinger, "Bond has basically run out of space," an issue which should prove to take the University to a new level of academic planning.
All News Stories for Friday, February 22, 2002
